In sickness and in health
by Setsuna Seta
Summary: A mortal virus has infected the colonies and a cure can't be found. What happens when one of the pilots is infected? Will they stop at nothing to help him or will they just accept the inevitable? Finally done!
1. The Killer

Hi everyone! This is my second GW fic, yay!!! I'm on a roll lately: somehow I found a muse locked somewhere in my bedroom and in thanks for setting her free she has decided to help me out

So enough senseless jabbering, let me just present the disclaimer: I don't own GW or any of it's characters, I'm just borrowing them to have some fun, but I'm in no way making any money out of this.

Ok? Well, here goes:

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**The Killer**

It was called "The Colonies Disease". It was a mortal virus that somehow affected your brain, slowly and painfully destroying your nervous system in a total time of 30 hours. Only a few cases had been registered and a cure was yet to be found.

The sickness was quite hard to identify. It began with a light headache, but then, after it was gone, it was impossible to tell it was actually there, especially since the first 12 hours of the last 30 of a patient's life where devoid of any symptom. The next hour, the thirteenth, was probably one of the most painful. The patient would loose any conscience of him or herself, and would start having convulsions that often ended in him or her getting very hurt in the process.

For like four hours the patient was completely knocked out and then would wake up as if though nothing had happened. Only 9 sane hours were left after this, because the last 4 were the total break down. It was just painful to hear the sick, yelling their lungs out in the last stages of the sickness when it hurt the most.

Nobody knew where had it come from or how was it transmitted, but it had only happened at the space colonies. That's exactly how it got its name, in case you were wondering…

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"Any leads in the Disease yet?" asked Duo to a screen portrayed Heero.

"Nothing yet. I really think the Preventers were getting kind of bored to think such a thing possible" answered Heero.

"What, the Disease being a biological weapon sent by terrorists?"

"Yes. So far there's nothing in this damn asteroid, not a trace"

"Well maybe they were getting a bit bored… but in any case, I think it's rather good that you found nothing there"

"Why's that?"

"Because it means you'll be here soon"

Heero smiled through the screen. For a moment his factions relaxed and he took a deep breath. He ran a hand through his hair in a way Duo absolutely loved.

"It will be so good to get off this rock and go back home with you… I miss you"

"Me too. And now I have to go 'cause Sally is gonna go off her rocker when she sees that I haven't turned in the report she asked me for. I'll see you when you get here, good bye"

"I love you"

"I love you even more"

Duo turned the screen off and took some papers from his desk. Happily whistling at the thought of seeing his lover soon, he headed down the corridors... until he walked into an awkward situation. Trowa had Quatre pinned down to the wall and was kissing the little blonde, occasionally biting his lower lip.

"Aww you guys! Can't you just get a room? I thought Sally told you not to give any shows in public places" moaned Duo hiding his face behind his papers. Peeking over the top of his report he saw Quatre smirking as Trowa pulled away.

"Sorry Duo, it's just that one thing led to another… we couldn't help ourselves" apologized the blonde smiling broadly.

"He's just jealous because he hasn't got his lover with him" put in Trowa with an almost amused face.

Duo pulled his tongue out at both in a childish manner. "Well you can laugh all you like. Heero will be here soon"

Trowa's and Quatre's expressions hardened.

"So did he find something?" asked Quatre concerned.

"Nothing" answered Duo, "but I'm sure we'll find something out. All I want is to have him back, so I really don't care about the Disease or anything else"

"But Duo, you know how important it is to continue with the search" ventured Quatre timidly.

"But he doesn't really have to go, not for a while anyways, and I'll make sure of that"

Duo walked away thoughtfully. It hadn't really occurred to him that maybe he was being a bit selfish. Wanting to have Heero back was probably being so. After all, the safety of human kind should be first. But he couldn't help it. He longed to kiss those soft lips once more, longed to hug him, to spend endless hours next to him… How could wanting to be next to the person he loved be a selfish act?

But the thought of those people suffering came to him. He had visited the victims of the Disease once, when the Preventers had decided it was more than just casualty. He had seen them through thick glass walls, piercing the atmosphere with terrifying screams while revolting around, like trying to put out an invisible fire. He was greatly shocked when he saw a victim taking his own life before the Disease could fully claim it.

Maybe he was being selfish, thoughtless. If Heero had been sent to find something, anything, it was because he was the only one capable of fulfilling the mission. Duo knew it very well; Heero was the best agent they had. He couldn't keep him all for himself, not when thousands of people needed him and his research.

_But I miss him, and I don't care what everyone else thinks, I want him back _thought Duo firmly as he approached the door to Sally's office.

"Dou, glad you could make it before next Christmas" said Sally with a wide smile.

"Been kind of busy" answered Duo.

"I suppose you got Heero's message"

"Yes I did… Sally, do you suppose he could stay here for some time… um, like a month or so?"

Sally turned to look at him gravely. After a while her expressions softened.

"I know you must really miss him. It has been a whole semester since he left after all, but he's got a better chance of finding anything than anyone else. You know how good he is at this and we can't really afford to keep him away from action"

"Yeah, I know that… well, it was just a wild hope… maybe I could go with him?"

"You've got a mission already, down on earth"

"Just a suggestion! Geez, what do I have to do to get some understanding here?" he whined in an I'm-the-victim-here kind of voice.

"I'll talk to Lady Une, perhaps we can fix something, but I wouldn't get my hopes too high just yet"

"That's why I like you better than the others" said Duo in a triumphal, sarcastic voice. He stretched and started walking away.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Uh… I was thinking of going back to my bedroom but by the way you just asked me I suppose I've got something else to do here that's even better" obviously it wasn't, but Duo was defeated, he had to stay.

"Damn right you are"

Going through the sanitary check up wasn't really all fun and Heero hated to have to go through it every time he was to leave the spaceship. Samples of a whole lot of things were taken to the lab and he had to wait alone in the ship for an hour before he was cleared.

He was half asleep when he heard a voice coming from the intercom.

"Preventer agent Heero Yuy, you have been cleared. You may now enter the base"

Finally, after such a long wait, he could abandon the spaceship and after changing clothes he made his way to where Duo and the others would be waiting.

"Brought any souvenirs?" asked Duo childishly when he first saw Heero.

"Er… not unless you wanted a rock for a souvenir" answered Heero taken aback that this was his greeting.

Duo flung his arms over his lover's shoulders and brought his face close for a kiss; a kiss that tasted like glory to Heero Yuy after being shunt to a deserted colony for the past three months.

"I was just joking" said Duo when their lips parted, "having you here with me beats any souvenir you might've brought along"

"Heero Yuy, I expect to hear your full report on your findings as soon as possible" called Lady Une from a screen nearby.

"Affirmative. I'll be right over"

Smiling sadly Duo let Heero pass. He was here now, but with all the Disease business, he wouldn't be surprised if Heero left again in less than an hour.

_Well, _thought Duo stretching his arms and placing both hands behind his head _at least he's back._

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A/N: Well, to tell you the truth, I was inspired on a T.A.T.U. song for this fic: "30 minutes". The idea was to make it a single chapter lemon, but somehow it got longer than what I intended. Still, the lemon's coming, don't worry. Probably next chapter if I manage.


	2. Hope

Hi again. Thank you Nikkel and priscel for submitting the only two reviews last chapter got. I'm glad that at least someone liked it and is waiting for more.

Just a small warning for this second chapter: I managed, like I told you, to put some lemon.

Other than that, enjoy!!!

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Hope 

"Hey Heero, wanna go out for dinner tonight?"

"Sounds good, let's go"

"Great! Let me just finish these reports and I'll be right with you"

Duo was typing like crazy in a black laptop while Heero stood behind him, watching him work. They were in a small office with no windows and just a desk where Duo currently sat working. After handing over a full report on his findings at the deserted colony Heero Yuy was given a couple of days to rest before his next mission started. Duo was thrilled to hear this and immediately got to work so he could have those days free. A few minutes later Duo hit a button in victory signal and stood up. He stretched and shut down his laptop.

"Let's go now, I'm really starvin'" declared the long braided preventer.

As he watched the computer screen go blank he felt a couple of arms hug him round his waist and the hot, humid breath of his lover on his neck before he kissed it. The kisses sent anxiety shivers down Duo's whole body. He held Heero's hands in his for a while, enjoying Heero's kisses until he turned around.

From that moment on, a long set of French kisses kept the two lovers busy. For such a long time they had been parted. Now, it was like at the beginning. Timidly exploring each other, like the first time. Such longing had made it hard to believe they were finally together again.

Thinking he might've died and gone to heaven, Duo slowly parted his lips allowing Heero's tongue to enter and touch the tip of Duo's own tongue. For a while Duo savored the pleasant moment before bringing his tongue into Heero's mouth for a passionate round. Even for a moment they just pulled their tongues out, having quite a fun battle outside their half closed lips.

"Duo, do you know where… ah… never mind" in an instant the door had opened and in came the blonde Quatre looking at some files in his hand. When he raised his head he regretted to have entered without knocking first. He let himself out instantly, blushing.

Duo and Heero turned to see him leave, then turned to each other and smiled.

"So, about that dinner you promised me…" said Heero.

"Right" answered his lover.

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"Wufei! I've been looking for you"

Quatre came running at the Chinese pilot.

"What for?"

"Sally asked me to give you this" Quatre handed out the files he'd been carrying for a while. "She says the new missions have already been filed and approved. We are to leave a week from now"

"Hn…"

"Heero got here just some hours ago"

"He didn't find anything, did he?"

"No… there were some records about a military base at the deserted space colony and Lady Une is having them checked, but Heero reckons they've been there since before Oz"

"Nothing about the Disease… well, I was just with Sally down at the research lab, they have some news for us and I was just about to set out looking for you"

"Really?"

"Yes, she expects us to be there at 18:00 hours so I better go look for Yuy and Maxwell"

"Great, I'll go get Trowa"

Both started walking away in different directions. Quatre suddenly spoke.

"Is it bad news?"

"I have no idea"

Duo and Heero were at a restaurant. It was quite elegant because Duo decided they really needed to celebrate Heero's return. Splendid courses were served and after a while they stood up to take a short brake and go to the bathroom. Duo was washing his hands when Heero came up to him from behind, hugged him round the waist like some time before, and started kissing his neck again.

"I take it you missed me" said Duo in a sarcastic voice watching Heero's reflection kiss him.

"You have no idea…" whispered Heero into Duo's neck making his lover's whole body vibrate with a sudden desire.

Duo suddenly felt something hard press up his butt and turned to face Heero thanking Kami that the bathroom was deserted. After kissing for a brief moment on the lips, Heero pulled Duo into a stall, closed the door and pinned him to the panels that separated each toilet.

"I've really missed you" whispered Heero parting from Duo's lips and looking deep into his eyes.

Slowly and delicately, he approached Duo again and gently brushed his lips with his own. He began to make his way down his throat while one of his hands pulled Duo closer by his buttocks and the other began unzipping his pants.

"Mr. Yuy, you've got to behave yourself" said Duo breathlessly while holding a mischievous grin. In return he simply held Heero's head with one hand, stroking his hair, and running down his back with the other.

Right at that moment Heero finished fidgeting with Duo's zipper and slipped his hand inside. He found Duo's member and gently stroked it making Duo emit a soft moan. His hand began a slow, steady pace drawing more moans from Duo's mouth. Pulling him ever closer the tip of Duo's manhood was finally in close contact with Heero's. With every stroke, which Heero made faster, Duo felt like in Heaven, unable to stop the moans that were coming from his half open mouth. Their breaths became faster when Duo lowered both his hands and pressed Heero closer to him.

"Duo…" Heero whispered his lover's name. He slowed the movement until he stopped. He turned to look at Duo's fully erect member and slowly began to bend down. He came closer, closer…

**RING**

Duo opened his eyes and stared around exasperated. Heero simply screwed his face up and took the cell phone that was ringing from inside his jacket.

"Fuck…" muttered Duo.

"What?" answered Heero harshly.

"Heero, it's Quatre, I've been looking all over for you"

"What is it Quatre"

Assuming the hot, passionate moment was definitely over, Duo began zipping his pants sadly looking at his fellow taking its original position. The heat was off.

"Sally wants us all back at the base. It's something from the lab, they say they've got some news for us" continued Quatre.

"All right"

"Have you seen Duo?"

"Duo? …mmm, not really" Heero winked and eye at Duo.

"Well if you see him please tell him about it"

"I will, see you in a while"

"You ought to turn your cell phone off more often" said Duo while Heero placed his phone back into his jacket, "or maybe put the vibrating alert on… oh the wonders it would do"

Heero stared at his lover with his eyes wide open. A series of images flashed quickly in his mind of all the possible uses of a vibrating cell phone. He mentally slapped himself, surprised that there were so many… weird uses he could give it… he also made a mental note to try them with Duo once he got the chance.

"What are you grinning at?" asked Duo surprised to see Heero's face grinning in an almost evil way.

"Never mind"

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"What do you suppose Sally wants to tell us?" asked Quatre hanging up a telephone located on top of a plain wooden table.

"Well, it's something about the Disease so probably something's been discovered" answered Trowa who was sitting on a nearby couch.

Quatre stared at the floor. The room they were in was plain and small. It had bare walls and the most spectacular feature was a window that showed a great part of the city. Next to the door was the wooden table with the phone and close to the window was the couch Trowa was sitting on.

"Perhaps they've found a way to identify it… instead of waiting for the convulsions to start…" added Quatre in a low voice.

Trowa stared at him for a while and then his expressions softened. The little blonde was still intently looking at the floor, his fists tightly clenched. Trowa knew that one of Quatre's sisters had been taken by the Disease. Quatre wasn't too close to any of his sisters, not even when his father died. His job made him be away from home and he never really got the chance to be in touch with any of them. But when the Preventers got involved with the Disease he had received notice that one of his sisters had died infected by it.

He hadn't been there, he hadn't seen his sister suffer. He didn't even get the news from his family. The Preventers made him in charge of collecting the data about the victims in all the colonies and that's where he saw his sister's name figuring in the list. It came as a real shock and he left immediately for home. Quatre returned a couple of weeks after, but he came in a terrible state. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't sleep, he wouldn't do anything. He simply walked around, his mind lost deep in miserable thoughts, or he would spend the day locked in his room, staring out the window not talking to anyone.

It had been Trowa's job to bring him back. He tried talking him out of it but Quatre wouldn't react. Only a two and a half weeks afterwards did Quatre allow his boyfriend to share his bed while he cried into his arms letting all his sadness flow free. They hadn't done anything, Trowa only stayed there, holding Quatre like a mother held his crying baby, comforting him in any way he could.

The next day Quatre had gotten better and he was convinced that he had to work as hard as he could to prevent people from suffering like he did. Probably after that Quatre was one of the most fervent investigators the Preventers had.

Trowa stood up and took Quatre's hand. His blonde lover didn't move for a while and tears threatened to come again. Suddenly he let himself lean against Trowa's chest. Trowa hugged him trying to make him feel better. They stayed like that for a while until it was time to go and meet Sally at the research labs.

Wufei was already there, dressing up in white suits with rubber gloves, masks, and hairnets.

"Duo and Heero aren't here yet?" asked Quatre.

"They'll be here soon. Put those on" Wufei pointed at a pair of suits just like his for Quatre and Trowa to wear, "otherwise we won't be allowed into the lab"

When Quatre and Trowa finished dressing up, Heero and Duo showed up and got to do the same as their companions. A while later they were being led to the labs by Sally and Lady Une. They had to go through some disinfecting gases first and then through a pair of thick glass doors that hermetically shut themselves after them. The group approached a couple of scientists waiting next to a table filled with a lot of laboratory items. In front was a screen.

"Welcome" said one of the scientists, "please take your seats" he pointed at chairs in front of the screen.

When they all settled themselves they began with an explanation of uttermost importance.

"There's no point in adorning the words we're about to tell you, it's best if we go straight to the point" spoke the second scientist. "After a year of research and experimenting we have discovered how to momentarily stop the Disease"

The group of seven Preventers that entered the lab shared amazed looks. Hope shone in every couple of eyes and Lady Une urged them to go on.

"The process is quite difficult to explain" continued the first scientist, the one that welcomed them there, "so there's absolutely no point in going into details about it, but we can proudly tell you that out research team has found a way to cryogenically freeze a victim of the Disease allowing the virus that infects the brain to stop its activity. Needless to say is that this will give us more time to find an effective cure"

"But I thought that cryogenic freezing was useless since the brain continues to function even after the freezing process" said Lady Une.

"True" answered the second scientist, "after the process the brain continues to work at its minimal functions to keep organs such as the heart working. However, with a special machine that keeps the heart pumping blood to the body, we have been able to freeze the brain and the virus that infects it. The brain is no longer needed to keep vital organs working so the person is in no real danger of dying. And since the brain cells are no longer developing any sort of functions, nor is the nervous system, the virus can't take hold of them and it's easy for us to isolate it"

Everyone assented indicating understanding. It wasn't a cure, but it was a way to give people hope and time. Death could be postponed…

"The bad news is," said the first scientist, "that it only works if the Disease is discovered within the first ten hours…"

They all felt their hearts drop. There were no symptoms to the Disease but a headache and before the thirteenth hour it was impossible to identify. Things weren't looking so well anymore.

"We haven't really tested it to see if it works after the tenth hour, but since the brain starts collapsing after such hour, it's kind of hard to isolate the virus because it would have already spread across most of the brain cells that control the muscles and then the machine we have developed to keep vital organs working won't have any effect" finished the first scientist.

Silence rang in everyone's ears for a while. They were all still digesting the bit of information just received. There might still be hope for those infected if the Disease was discovered in time, but then again, that was another challenge. To find all those infected before the tenth hour passed wasn't going to be easy.

"Well, maybe not every single victim might be able to undergo such process" spoke Quatre, "but there are some that we might still be able to save. As long as I know that the Disease can be stopped for some I will do my best to give them hope"

The Preventers smiled at this and each decided within their own thoughts that they would fight along these lines as well.

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A/N: Well, I don't really know how the cryogenic freezing process works… to tell you the truth I don't know a thing about it… but I do know that it somehow slows or stops activity in a body (got it from Batman Forever… Dr. Freeze's wife, remember?) and it occurred to me that it could probably work for this. Then again it's just a story, have mercy and compassion with me.


	3. The Missions

Hi everyone, thought I was gone??? Well… almost, I had a few problems with my computer and it took me a while to have it running again. But everything went all right and here's the next chapter in this fic.

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The Missions 

"Well, at least we might be able to save some" said Sally more to herself than to the rest when they exited the lab. "By the way, I have just finished filing your next missions. Please come by my office for a few minutes to explain them to you"

The five pilots headed for Sally's office. Waiting on top of her desk were all the files minus Wufei's, which Quatre had delivered earlier. She passed them each a folder with their respective names.

"It basically comes down to this, Heero will go back to looking for any data on the virus in the cluster of deserted colonies, Quatre, Duo, and Wufei will be looking for any traces of the Disease inside the colonies so that infected people may come for cryogenic freezing, and Trowa will be smuggled into Earth to try and find something there"

"I thought travel between colonies and Earth was banned due to the Disease, how do you expect to smuggle Trowa in?" interrupted Duo.

"The last space ferry to leave the colonies will be vice foreign minister Dorlan's" replied Sally, "we have asked Relena to take Trowa as personnel"

"She won't be denied the entrance to Earth from the space colonies as long as she proves she's not infected" added Heero, "former queen Relena will always be received with open arms"

This explanation seemed to satisfy all pilots because there was no further discussion. They each left Sally's office reading their own files and parted their ways for their respective rooms.

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Next day Trowa headed for the circus. He had to see Catherine before he left for Earth. He promised her to let her know whenever he had to leave.

"So you're off to Earth" sighed Catherine handing him a mug of hot coffee.

"There might be a possibility that the virus comes from a terrorist down on Earth, we mustn't discard any chances" said Trowa taking the mug from her.

"Well, at least you'll be safe there… I mean, there hasn't been a report of the Disease reaching Earth, has there?"

"No"

"Then, I hope you have a safe journey… what about Quatre?"

Catherine had never entirely approved of Trowa's lover. She seemed to think Trowa was too much of a gentleman and too strong and caring to be gay… her own point of view. Still she had accepted it and somehow took a liking to Quatre when she met him. Still, she usually spoke of the matter in a stiff sort of way.

"He'll go a different way, if that's what you want to know"

"No… I was just curious… will you stay the night at the circus?"

"… all right"

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Wufei was staring trough a window in the headquarters. It was late and the light was dimming slowly. He looked intently down at the city that extended itself before his eyes. A short, inaudible sigh escaped his lips.

"Hey Wu-man, what's up?" behind him came Duo.

"Nothing"

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" Duo pointed at the darkening space, "you know, for a moment I thought you wouldn't be joining us in this mission"

"And why is that Maxwell?"

"Well, you know, you're not the type to do something like this…"

"Something like what?"

"Going all heroic for weak people, according to you"

Wufei looked for a brief moment at Duo. The guy was smiling good-naturedly playing with the tip of his long braid. His gaze returned to the city.

"People change with time… experience also changes people"

"Yeah… but still, I suppose you took quite a while to change, maybe you were still defending your position…"

"Have you ever suffered the loss of a loved one?" interrupted Wufei.

"Er… what? A loss… well, no. I've always been on my own so there hasn't been anyone to lose… and Heero's still here so… no, I haven't"

Wufei made a sort of dramatic pause in the moment. He was thinking of the people that died in the colony were he used to live… his elders, the one's who taught him everything he needed to know. They wouldn't really qualify as loved ones, but they were the closest he had had to a family. Then he thought about Treize. Contrary to his fellow pilots' opinions, he wasn't in love with Treize… he didn't even fancy guys like the others did. What he felt for Trieze wasn't love, it was respect and admiration. When he lost him he felt empty and incomplete.

"I suppose that, even when people are weak, they deserve an opportunity to be with the ones they love…" finally spoke Wufei.

Duo turned to look at Wufei wondering what could be possibly going on inside his partner's mind. Wufei simply stared down the window without further comments wondering if he would ever get a chance to spend some time next to a loved one. Secretly, he wished he wasn't to late… what if the one he had been looking for all this time had already been taken by the Disease?

Surprised at himself for having such thoughts, Wufei decided this was a dangerous matter for him. Never had he felt true love for someone yet, why was he thinking about this now? Was he envying Maxwell and the others for accomplishing what he had not? That was impossible, he had better things to be thinking about.

"I have to go" said Wufei.

"So do I" answered Duo in return, "see ya"

Wufei watched Maxwell's retreating back for a while before turning on to his own business. He left for his own dormitory trying hard to forget what he had just been thinking of.

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Quatre was looking trough some old files. In them were the early reports on the Disease: newspaper headliners warning about a strange Disease that killed its victims in a reduced time, laboratory records about the increasing number of patients affected by this mortal virus… for a long time now they had lived with this increasing danger.

Three years ago when his sister had died the Disease had recently become a topic in the Preventers list of probable terrorist attacks. He had felt guilty for some reason after the sad event, but he didn't really know why. Trowa after a while made him aware that it had nothing to do with him and that he really didn't have anything to blame himself for. But that explanation alone hadn't totally satisfied Quatre. He knew he was still guilty, maybe not for his sister's death, but for being away when they most needed him. When his father died he became the only man in the family, he should've realized that his sisters would probably need him.

No, he knew perfectly well that there was nothing to do inside his family anymore. He wasn't needed at all and the best way to help them was doing his best with the Preventers…

An image of his sister appeared in an old newspaper. He hadn't really been expecting this.

"Prominent leader of the Winner family dies victim of the mysterious virus" said the newspaper's headline. His sister was a great personality in the political and economical sphere of the space colonies, her death had caused a big uproar.

"I'm sorry sister" muttered Quatre.

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Time went by quickly and the week was over before they knew. After spending their last days together in a very long time, the parting came as something so natural and monotone, they all felt surprised. They knew work would keep them busy, hardly any time to spare to think about the rest.

The lovers said their good byes and they all parted to their respective sections of the hangar to board their transports. Before boarding, they all had to go trough the sanitary check up, but before they even got started, they were notified that they weren't allowed to leave.

"WHAT!"

"All personnel will proceed to the headquarters' main building for a throughout sanitary check up" spoke a voice through some intercoms.

All pilots gathered themselves at the entrance to the hangar.

"What the hell's going on?" asked Maxwell.

"A trace of virus has been located inside the headquarters, all personnel will proceed to the headquarters' main building for a throughout sanitary check up" repeated the voice in the intercom.

All pilots exchanged dark looks.

"Let's go" said Heero cutting trough the thick atmosphere that was suddenly created amongst them.

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A/N: Once again, sorry to have kept you waiting. I do realize this chapter has a lot of sentimentalism, but it's kind of the preliminary stuff to what I hope you find to be the really good stuff… well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to write more often from now on.


	4. The Doctor

The Doctor 

"Hey Sally! What's going on?"

The pilots reached the main building running and met Sally at the doors.

"The main computer down at the labs detected a virus dispersion…"

"How?" asked Trowa.

"I don't know, but we all have to go through the sanitary checkup, come in here"

Scared faces looked up at them when they entered. All the technicians, scientists, and other personnel already gathered there were waiting for new instructions. They seemed like convicts in wait of the death sentence. The sentence, however, never came. For some minutes, which seemed like endless hours to everyone, the place was filled with silence. The atmosphere was so thick someone could've sliced right through it with a knife. Ten more minutes and they heard yelling from downstairs.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!" the magnified voice belonged unmistakably to Lady Une. "YOU'RE SCIENTISTS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!"

The five pilots plus Sally stared at each other bewildered and decided to go down. As they were approaching the stairs a new outburst made them think better of it.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE! HE CAN'T BE GONE, HE'S A LEADING DOCTOR!"

Unable to run back up the stairs in time, they saw Lady Une come stomping up a nasty shade of red crawling up her neck. They had never seen her this angry. Back at reception she took hold of the microphone.

"To all personnel gathered here, there is no need to worry at the moment. Unfortunately the main computer at the labs suffered a minor malfunction and set off a false alarm. However, we advice you not to leave the headquarters until further notice and to come down to the labs straight away if you so much as feel a light headache" said Lady Une.

The building slowly began to empty and only the pilots and Sally were left behind.

"So… what did we miss?" ventured Duo slowly, afraid of a new wave of fury.

Lady Une stared at them noticing for the first time they were there. After careful consideration she pursed her lips and gestured them to take a seat. After a deep breath she decided to speak.

"Apparently an hour ago, Dr. Sixto, one of the leading doctors of the virus project, sort of disappeared. He was in charge of some data in the main computer and since he left, the data got messed up and caused pandemonium downstairs at the labs. A false alarm went off thanks to that and now the computer is having problems identifying the real virus"

One of the pilots swore under his breath, the rest simply gaped at her, eyes full of concern. Sally shook her head from side to side, still unwilling to believe it.

"And that's only the beginning" continued Lady Une.

"What? You mean there's more?" blurted Duo out.

"Well, since the main computer is malfunctioning, the information we get from the rest of the computers down at the labs won't be one hundred percent accurate. When the government gets a hold of this information, they'll force us to go into quarantine"

"WHAT? And delay all our work only because of a stupid false alarm?" exclaimed Duo.

"Calm down Maxwell. I know it's annoying to have this happen right now, but it's for the best. We need to be sure this thing isn't spread any further"

The pilots nodded in consent.

XXX XXX XXX

"Damn it!" Duo hit the wall with his fist.

"Hurting yourself won't do us any good Maxwell" pointed out Wufei in a bored way. He was reading the newspaper. The headline spoke about their problems.

"I don't understand why do we have to stay here in the first place" continued Duo ignoring Wufei's comment.

"Well, I really think it's for the best" put in Quatre from the table where he was playing chess with Trowa. Or rather watching how Trowa mercilessly slaughtered his entire pieces; the blonde wasn't really paying attention to the game.

"Hmph!" was all Duo could answer this time.

It was now three days after the events that had prevented them from leaving. A day after them, Lady Une bitterly informed that Dr. Sixto had been found dead, apparently victim of the disease as well.

"Proof that doctors can get sick as well" had said Duo sarcastically. The comment hadn't been well taken by anyone.

Two days after, Lady Une came back with more bad news. The assholes at the government did take hold of the information and the ingrate bastards are now making a big fuss about the whole fuckin' thing, literally quoting her. The headquarters were indeed ordered to enter quarantine until they could prove everything had been fixed.

"And they're making me bring Zechs and Noin back in! Hell, they weren't even here when it happened, I don't see the point of interrupting their work!"

Zechs and Noin were currently down on Earth. They had gotten there even before travel between the colonies and Earth had been banned.

Three days later, present time, Lady Une still swore a lot and was best left alone in her office to take care of a heavy load of paperwork. Sadistically taken as extra vacations, the pilots had no choice but to stay doing nothing most of the day. Only Quatre seemed to have been able to find something useful to do, looking around in old newspapers for anything interesting.

"No Maxwell, shoving _that_ up Heero's ass isn't considered useful" said Wufei in his usual bored tone when Duo had suggested that if reading old, moldy newspapers, was helpful, then he sure as hell had even better ways of being useful.

After a quick supper, Quatre gave up on the last newspaper he'd been reading and sat down to play chess with Trowa, which once again brings us back to present time.

Duo noisily yawned and groaned while he stretched. The only one out of picture was Heero, as usual. He was sitting at a corner, deep in thought.

"Was in your mind babe?" Duo turned to him.

Heero sighed silently and either ignored or didn't hear Duo. He had his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed, clear signs of intent thinking.

"I said, what's in your mind Hee-chan?" Duo purred into Heero's ear.

Reacting to the use of his most hated nickname he turned to meet Duo's face only inches apart from his. Duo tried to give Heero a kiss, but the silent Preventer wouldn't return it.

"Something just doesn't fit into all of this" finally spoke Heero.

"What do you mean?" asked Trowa not taking his eyes away from the game.

"I mean that something in this whole thing isn't right. Dr. Sixto's death, to be more precise"

"Lady Une said he had apparently died victim of the disease" put in Quatre, remembering Lady Une's report form only a couple of days ago.

"She said _apparently_" answered Heero back.

"Are you saying he died of something else?"

"Not really, I mean, he was found with the usual signs of disease caused death, but I still can't see how could he have died of it"

"Well, it _is_ a virus, you know, anyone can get infected, even the scientists down at the labs"

"I know, it's just a hunch I've got. Hasn't let me sleep well these past days"

"Well what do you know, I'm Heero's hunch!" said Duo with an evil glint on his eyes. Everyone sweat-dropped at this comment.

XXX XXX XXX

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back with a new chapter, YAY!!! I really do hope you liked it. By the way, priscel, I do know there's something about father Maxwell and sister Helen, but I never really got hold of the story, so I decided not to write anything about them. Maybe you could write to me and tell me how it goes (authoress get all puppy eyed). Anyways, I hope none of you guys forgets to review!!!


	5. Nothing Better To Do

Yay, I'm back! I'm reeeeaaaaaly sorry it took me forever to update, but oh well, been kinda busy… sort of. The problem is that I've got like 20 other ideas for new fics, revolving around my brain and I somehow lose the ability to concentrate on one… I promise I won't put up any new fics until I'm done, or nearly done, with the ones currently here.

Anyways, now that I'm back once more, I expect to update regularly since now my ideas for this fic are complete in my brain, all I have to do is write them down, which will take a much shorter time.

Thanks a bunch to all those who reviewed in past chapters and I hope you're still around, patiently waiting for the next one… here it is!

XXX XXX XXX

Nothing Better To Do

Dawn found Duo Maxwell at the gym, working out. Well, if trying to beat the stuffing out, just for the heck of it, is actually considered real work out. He wore black pants along with a tight black tank top. Over the time, the muscles of his arms had become more defined as well as those on his chest and abdomen. He now had a fair chance at defeating Heero in a fist fight, considering past experience. Apparently he had already been there for a while, since the top was damp with sweat.

For a moment he simply paused, holding the punching bag and trying to steady his breath. He looked down and caught sight of the sweat drops making their way to the floor from the tip of his nose. It was only then when he noticed that the sun was slowly creeping up.

He parted a few steps from the punching bag, letting his body cool down, and with one last swing, he kicked the bag sending it rocking back and forth on its hinge.

"I see you're up early, Mr. Maxwell"

A female voice brought him out of his musings and Duo parted his view from the swaying bag to turn and face none other that Lady Une herself. She was dressed already in her uniform and her hair worn loosely behind her back. The head of the Preventers was leaning at the doorframe where the entrance to the gym was, just a few feet away from Duo.

"So are you" answered Duo reaching out for a towel on a nearby bench and wiping the sweat off his face.

"Well, it's my duty to be up this early in the morning. Especially with all those government bastards at my neck"

Duo forced a smile on his face. "Then I take it the quarantine is nowhere near over"

"You guessed right" Lady Une sighed tiredly and took a seat near the entrance. Duo went to get some water and returned with a half-empty bottle. You could tell by looking at her face that Lady Une was really overdoing herself. Her eyes were red, and underneath them were bags showing off how much she hadn't slept. This had to be over soon, or she would fall ill as well.

"So Lady, what brings you here with the lesser mortals?"

"I was on my way to the labs when I heard noise coming from here. I saw you… is there something troubling your mind? I mean besides what's going on lately"

Duo unconsciously gripped his bottle tighter. He had come to the gym at such hour because he had been unable to stay asleep any longer. Nightmares where Heero died kept assaulting him. He was just too afraid to lose anyone close to him, and he felt so powerless, being locked in there as they all were now.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" suddenly blurted out Duo.

"What?"

"Am I an idiot? Am I useless?"

Lady Une studied the boy in front of her. There was a certain bitterness to his voice, and the usual light that shone in his eyes had left. She had never seen Maxwell this sad, he was usually the one to make jokes, no matter how inappropriate, full of energy and stamina, cheerful enough for the entire colony now sunk in distress.

"Why do you ask that, Duo?"

"Well… I don't know… it's just…"

"I know you're a joker Maxwell, and that you are usually making out-of-place comments, but that doesn't make you an idiot" put in Lady Une turning to look at the slowly rising sun. It had truly been a long time since she had had any time to do such a thing… she had forgotten how beautiful it was.

"But everyone else thinks so! Everyone says that I don't understand anything, that I just don't get the graveness of the situation and that I'm a hopeless fool that's just in the way!" by now Duo had crumpled the bottle and had forgotten all about the water still inside. Tiny drops were pouring out as the boy shook with anger.

Lady Une stood up and lifted Duo's chin with her gloved hand. His face had reddened with anger and his eyes shone with what unmistakably unshed tears. He was blinking furiously, keeping them at bay, forbidding himself to cry.

"Follow me" said Lady Une looking straight into his violet eyes.

She left the gym, leaving Duo behind. He looked down and noticed the bottle in his hand; the moving fluid inside seemed to be urging him on. He hastily put on a sweatshirt and ran behind Lady Une catching up to her just as she was about to enter the elevator.

"Where are we going?" he asked before she punched any number.

"Down" she said as she pressed the number of one of the lower levels.

XXX XXX XXX

Apparently, Duo hadn't been the only one unable to stay asleep that day. Wufei himself had been tossing and turning continually in his bed until he realized that it was pointless to pretend to be resting. Being hours before dawn, the place was a bit chilly, regardless of the fact its climate was controlled by a rather sophisticated heating system, so he decided to wrap at least a jacket around his naked torso.

It would take hours before the rest woke up and he decided to take advantage of it. He so desperately needed to be alone to think and meditate. It was usually hard to do so since no one was doing anything and they always found a way to be stuck together, the other pilots and him, that is. Wufei had never been a fan of being surrounded by large groups of people, considering four a large group already, but somehow the others proved to be nice enough to hang out with.

However, after a whole week of Maxwell's continuous jokes and loud comments Wufei rediscovered the value of solitude. And considering he had no real occupation well, he had plenty of time to meditate. The lonely, dark corridors of the Preventers headquarters proved to be enticing of this particular desire and all he had to do was allow his feet to carry him wherever they wished.

The Chinese pilot was only dimly aware of his location. He did notice various corridors and staircases, but being as concentrated in his thoughts as he was, he never actually kept track or the general direction he had been walking to for the past minutes.

The previous night he'd been at Heero's room, sharing his own suspicions about the scientist's unexpected death. He agreed with Heero's idea that it was more than just a mere coincidence or accident. Even if it really was a virus, you'd consider one of the leading scientists to at least be more cautious.

"But no one really knows how's it transmitted" that was when Maxwell entered the room, "no matter how cautious they get, their proximity to that thing endangers them just like it does to anyone else"

At that point, Maxwell hugged Heero round the middle and Wufei totally forgot about his reply. Duo had rested his chin atop one of Heero's shoulders and even though he was dealing with a very stoic Japanese youth, Wufei could still notice a certain relaxation in Heero's features. It was more than obvious that they were happy together.

Once more, as he remembered this particular image, the strange thoughts assaulted him. Thoughts about being with someone… someone who would understand him and care for him… someone who would wait for him to come back, safe and sound, after this whole thing was over. All his friends had such a person, even Heero, who proved to be rather difficult to deal with, and they were all happy, they all fought harder than any ordinary person, and it was all thanks to that one soul that kept waiting for their smile, their touch, the sound of their voices…

"Hmph…" Wufei made a grunting sound, desperately looking for something else to think about. This particular train of thoughts was unnerving him and he was almost… afraid to think along these lines.

Wufei scared himself when he faced his own reflection in a darker corridor. He was staring at himself on a glass wall. After a while, his destination was revealed and to prove it were dim lanterns positioned evenly along two lines behind the glass wall. Wufei had just reached the entrance to the hall were the very few victims of the Disease that had been spotted in time, lay resting in their cryogenic freeze state.

Just behind a door located to his left was the passageway that, after some meters of walking, led to the rows of capsules inside of which rested those poor people, sleeping in blissful unawareness of their present condition. Only those with special clearance at the Preventers had access to that zone, and Wufei was one of those few privileged. He'd actually been there before, just a couple of times, before the cryogenic process was even discovered.

Back then, he remembered, people were just laying on beds, some crying, very frightened, others simply resigned to their terrible fate beyond tears. It had surprised him to see that all the patients, about twenty, were young, the eldest barely reaching his thirties. So young and already doomed… was that justice?

For a strange reason, unknown to Wufei, he walked over to the entrance. A retinal scanner and a seven-digit code were all that separated him from those poor souls. And somewhat impulsively he just entered, after being cleared and allowed entrance. Only after the door shut hermetically behind him did he realize what had he done.

Sunlight didn't reach that place, it was too deep underground, instead, electric light illuminated the place during the day, being the lights programmed to turn themselves on when the sun rose, kind of like simulating real daylight. Right then only the dim lanterns showed him a way trough the narrow corridor. Stifling a yawn he made his way all the way down to a new crystal door and trough it to a big hall with large glass cases, lit with their own lights.

They were like capsules, long and cylindrical, large enough to fit a tall person. Only five were occupied, the rest were dark. The five had bluish-green liquid inside and many cables, all connected to a sleeping person. They were all lined up in a row, three to the left, two to the right, and at the very end Wufei saw something that made his heart stop.

A girl, about his age, was sleeping in one of those crystal cases. She was pale and had raven black hair, slim body and short. Looking around he realized she was the only woman in there, the rest were grown men, around their twenties. The Chinese pilot couldn't really understand why, but he was enticed with the girl.

_"It could've been her…" _he thought. An image of possibly meeting the girl, getting to spend some time with her and ending up liking her danced like mad in his brain. What if this was his soul mate? The disease could've taken her and he wouldn't have even met her. Or maybe the disease had already taken the one meant to be with him, and now he was destined to spend the rest of his life alone and empty.

Wufei gasped and took a few steps backwards, scared. In just a second it dawned to him how much damage something like this. His heart pounded loudly in his chest and cold sweat ran down his face. Somehow, he just discovered how sad and terrifying this sickness could be…

"Wufei?"

All of a sudden the lamps overhead all turned on, signaling the rise of the sun, and a voice called out to a now shaking Wufei. Trying to calm himself as best as he could, Wufei turned and met no other than Duo Maxwell and Lady Une looking puzzled at him.

"You ok?" asked Duo.

"I'm fine Maxwell" answered in what was a miserable attempt of sounding calm and collected.

"But…"

"Good morning" Wufei said nothing else and walked outside past the two newly arrived. Why was he feeling such things? Why was he panicking about the Disease? Why was he sad about being alone… was that really justice?

XXX XXX XXX

As he rolled around he discovered a certain coldness to the place. Feeling about with his right hand, he soon realized that he was alone. Heero lifted his face from the pillows he had buried it onto and groggily stared at the spot next to him. He nudged himself deeper back into the pillow as he groaned. It was not like Duo to leave this early in the morning.

In one last attempt to catch his lover's slender figure he propped himself up against his elbows and looked around. It was his room. The Preventers hadn't exactly built rooms for couples so, considering their endless love for each other and a good bout of altered young hormones, Heero and Duo had to improvise.

His room was plain and quite empty. Apart from the bed, the tiny closet and the bathroom, there was only a desk where his laptop was currently being recharged, with its corresponding plain black chair, and right next to it a small window, the only one in the room. It lacked any other furniture or ornaments to make it cozier. Still, Duo liked it there, mainly because of Heero's presence, but other than that, Heero found his place to be rather empty, soulless and lifeless.

Duo was usually the one to stay asleep until late. Heero was already used to waking up before dawn and had something like a biological timer. This time, however, it was before dawn but Duo had already been missing for a while. Heero wondered how come he hadn't noticed his lover's absence, since the slightest stir would be enough to trigger his senses. He figured it had something to do with feeling safe and at ease in the braided pilot's company.

Finally he left the bed. Looking around the place for his clothes, dressed only in dark-green boxers, the pilot took some dark trousers along with a white shirt and a Preventers jacket. Right at the door he wondered now whether he should go and look for Duo before having breakfast, but decided that if Duo had left that early in the morning, then he had his reasons for being alone. Besides, knowing his lover, he'd meet him at the dining hall anyways, sooner or later.

The halls were fuller than usual. Most of the staff at the Preventers had their own houses in the colony they were based at, but after the incident with the scientist and the whole quarantine affair, they were forced to stay all cluttered together. Most of the workers at the hall were still nervous and uneasy, and little by little the trust between partners and friends was fading away. They were all scared of the Disease and they didn't want to hang around an infected person.

Heero found his way to an empty table carrying his tray already full of healthy food, exactly the one Duo disliked the most to his lover's amusement, and began chewing on his fruit salad looking around. No matter what others thought, Heero firmly assured himself after seeing the various expressions on every person that passed, and no matter how dangerous, he would never abandon his friends, especially not Duo… But, how about them? Would they abandon him if he was found infected?

…no, they wouldn't. They really were friends, and Heero was sure they'd stick together no matter what. And even if they didn't, Heero would sure be grateful it had been him the Diseased instead of the rest. He'd rather die a thousand times a paiful death than cry over Duo's death, or whomever else's.

Suddenly he was abruptly cut off his thoughts when a tray dropped to his side. Next to him Wufei was taking a seat and in front, absorbed in his thoughts looking intently down at his tray, and slowly making his way towards their table was Duo himself.

"Good morning" said Heero.

"Morning" answered Wufei. Duo sat and said nothing, not even bothering to lift his sight from the tray.

Heero turned to look at it as well and saw very few food, quite unlike Duo. He soon started to panic when his thoughts from a while earlier returned to his mind.

"Duo, are you okay?" he asked trying his best to control his voice. Duo finally looked at him and his eyes seemed to brighten up.

"Good morning Heero" he said, half-spiritedly, "did you sleep well?"

"Er… well, yes but-"

"That's good. Well, let's eat!"

Wufei at his left was also unnaturally silent and they both were eyeing their food with certain discontent. None had started on their breakfast and they were just poking at their respective servings.

"What's wrong with you two?" asked Heero in a much more serious tone.

First and awkward silence, then, "we went down to see the frozen people" answered Duo once again not lifting his face. Heero now understood. "They were all abandoned by their families, according to Lady Une. She said that, most of their families had brought them here, in hope of finding a cure, but had left afterwards, afraid for their own health… Most of their families didn't even come to visit before the quarantine"

Wufei said nothing, but nodded after Duo finished. Heero sighed and took Duo's hands between his own. Wufei's eyes darted towards this gesture.

"People are scared, Duo" Heero said trying his best to cheer him up, "and they just don't understand this… Besides, I suppose they _had_ to leave…"

"How can you say that!"

"Well, suppose the parents of a victim get the Disease as well and die… once the cure was found and the victim woke up, who would be waiting for him or her?"

"…Heero… if I get sick… would you be waiting for me?"

"Of course Duo"

"Injustice!" Wufei startled them both, "they shouldn't have left them… they shouldn't be there in the first place… someone should be there for everyone…" carefully listening and looking, one could've told both his voice and hands were shaking.

Suddenly he lifted himself up and stomped out of the dining hall.

XXX XXX XXX

Tipping woke Trowa up. Dazed by the light entering the room trough a tiny window, he had to squint to see the source of the tipping. Sitting in a chair with light blue trousers on was Quatre, working on his laptop. Trowa rubbed the sleep off his eyes and yawned loudly making the blond pilot turn around and smile at his sleepy sight.

"Good morning!" he said briskly.

"Mornin'" answered Trowa trying hard to fight another yawn.

He rubbed his eyes once more and then sat on the edge of the bed. He stretched and walked over to his love. Trowa traced light kisses on Quatre's naked back and made the small pilot giggle.

"Care for some coffee?" asked Quatre turning around and stopping Trowa's attack on his exposed back.

"Nah… I care for something sweet, actually"

Quatre looked around quizzically hoping to find something sweet to offer his lover. However, Trowa suddenly turned the chair around and pulled him out of it and onto the bed. Trowa leaned over him and grinning, he placed a kiss on Quatre's rosy pink lips.

"Ah…" he sighed satisfactorily, "this is exactly what I needed"

"Well I'm glad for you, but I'm hungry for something more substantial" said Quatre in an apologetic tone giving Trowa the irresistible puppy look, "I was actually waiting for you to wake up so we could go and have breakfast together"

Trowa bit his lips and smiled, lifting himself up and starting to get dressed to comply with his lover's wishes.

On their way to the dining hall they met Lady Une.

"Boys! Am I glad to see you!" she said happily walking towards them.

"Good morning Lady Une" said Quatre politely.

"What is it that you need us for?" asked Trowa.

"It's about the main computer. I was just at the labs with the rest of the leading scientist and they said that the computer is now fixed"

The pilots gaped at their employer. This meant quarantine would be nearly over, once everyone at the headquarters had been checked and they were sure there was no trace of infection anywhere.

"I need you guys to look for the rest and tell them to meet me at the labs after breakfast. We still need to test the reinstalled programs and I really was hoping you wouldn't mind helping us there"

"Don't worry Lady, we'll be glad to be your guinea pigs!" said Quatre smiling happily.

"Um… I'm sorry, but yes, I do think that would be the term…"

"Don't worry Lady, we'll tell the rest. We'll meet you down there in a while"

They left Lady Une behind and quickly found Duo and Heero at a table in the dining hall.

"Guys!" Quatre practically skipped over to his friends in his happiness.

"Hey Q! Tro!" greeted Duo in a much happier note that he'd been a while ago. "What's up?"

"We just met Lady Une, and boy do we have great news for you"

"She said that the main computer was finally repaired and she needs us to go down to the labs to help her test some of the programs" Trowa took over, afraid that the little blonde would get too carried away in his blissful happiness and forget all about the message. Quatre pouted, obviously disappointed he couldn't be the one to deliver the news, but still looked eagerly at the perplexed couple.

"So this means…" began Duo.

"…that we'll be able to get the research up once more" finished Heero.

"Precisely" continued Quatre, "and she wants to meet us at the labs once we finish breakfast."

"Where's Wufei?" interrupted Trowa.

"He was here a while ago, but he just left to kami knows where" answered Heero.

"Well, we have to find him so we can all go and check these programs together, right?" exclaimed Duo, affected by Quatre's joy.

TBC…


	6. Running A Test

HI EVERYONE! Told ya it wouldn't take long for this next update… well, considering my record for updates, this is definitely record breaking. I have decided to try and finish this story before updating other fics, so you'll have an ending in no time, really. The problem is that I only like to write whenever I'm truly inspired, and with homework and all, well, it's not easy to find one of those moments. But worry not! In a couple of weeks I will be having vacations in which I promise to give you more chapters.

Anyways, enough senseless blabbering! On with the story!

XXX XXX XXX

**Running A Test**

Before heading down to the labs, the pilots split up in order to find Wufei. However, a fifteen-minute-long search proved entirely fruitless. They all met once more right in front of the labs, Wufei-less.

"I suppose we can tell him about it later, once we find him" said Quatre thoughtfully, eager to go and get the tests running.

Duo was staring at the door to their right. He didn't notice the rest of the pilots entering the labs trough another door until Heero popped his head out. "Oi Duo! What are you waiting for?"

Duo didn't move, but the sound of Heero's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Turning around he gave his lover a quick grin and "I'll catch up to you guys in a while, k?" before running off into the door he was staring at, not waiting for an answer.

For the second time that day, Duo entered the hall where he'd found Wufei earlier that morning. Nobody had bothered to check this place, and something told Duo he might find something interesting here. And true to his hunch, Wufei was standing before the same capsule he'd been standing at that morning.

Duo made his way over silently, unbeknownst to Wufei, who kept glaring at the frozen individual. Up closer Duo had to hold a gasp, as he discovered something he had never in his wildest dreams thought of ever seeing. Wufei's eyes were red, proof that he'd been crying just a while ago, and tiny drops of blood were dripping down to the floor from his tightly clenched fists.

"Wufei?" whispered Duo, afraid of Wufei's reaction. He knew the Chinese pilot hated moments of weakness, and being observed in one might produce a terrifying wave of fury the other pilots had yet to see.

As expected, Wufei seemed surprised, shocked, and angry at first, quickly snapping around to see who the offender had been. When he spotted Duo a few steps away, however, his face changed to now portray something kind of like relief. A bittersweet smile replaced his usually thin line of a mouth and he noticed his bloody hands when he lowered his gaze.

"Tell me Maxwell… is this justice?" he whispered.

Duo didn't know what to say or do next. He had never seen Wufei so vulnerable in his years of knowing him. It occurred to him that the least he could do was provide some support to his broken friend, so he approached Wufei and placed a hand on Wufei's shoulder.

"It's not Wufei… but we're working on righting these wrongs…"

Unexpectedly, Wufei leaned on Duo's shoulder and began to cry once more, this time more freely, letting the tears flow with ease instead of trying with all his might to retain them behind his eyelids like he'd done so before being found by the braided pilot. As he promised to himself, Duo did his best to offer his support; his arms left his sides after recovering from the surprise, and wrapped themselves around Wufei's back, hoping to transmit some feeling of comfort and reassurance.

"It's all right Wu-man" Duo whispered, "we'll find a way to help them… they'll be alright…"

"I'm sorry" said Wufei with a muffled voice coming from Duo's chest, "I shouldn't be acting like this"

"It's okay. You're always been the though one, remember? Welling up these emotions and tears is never good. I'm sure you'll feel better once you let everything go" Suddenly Duo remembered why he'd been looking for Wufei in the first place, and he was sure that would be enough to cheer Wufei up, even if it was just a bit. "Hey, listen to this" Duo carefully parted Wufei from him, holding him by the shoulders and making sure his tear streaked face was actually making eye contact with him, "Lady Une wants to see us at the labs right now, the scientists said they'd gotten the system up and running again!"

At first there was no reaction, and Duo felt a bit worried that maybe this information wouldn't be as welcome as he though first, but then Wufei's face lightened up and he wiped his face clean with the back of his hands. "Then what are we waiting for, let's go" he said.

XXX XXX XXX

"Alright, basically, what we've got here is a very rough version of the last system, which we've asked you guys to beta test for us" said one of the scientists that had received them all at the labs, once the five pilots were gathered in a small, plain room along with Lady Une.

The had been told to wait there, just a little strip of a room, with only a couple of benches on either side, while Wufei and Duo got there. Once the missing pilots made their entrance, everyone noticed Wufei's state, but a glance from Duo told them not to make any questions. So they just squared with it and waited for further instruction.

From a door at the end, opposite from the one they'd entered just a few minutes before, a young man wearing a white lab coat, glasses and holding some papers told them what they'd just heard.

"The problem is, mainly, that it still runs very slow, so it takes a while to identify the virus. Since all of you guys are in perfect condition, we've decided to make the initial test with you to, in easy terms, "teach" it what a healthy person's like. …Any questions?"

"How long does it take to give out the results?" asked Heero.

"It really does depend. If a person is in perfect health condition, we have speculated it will take from three to four hours, because it only does a sort of comparison between the sample and the standards it's already got for a healthy person. When those standards fail, meaning that the person is sick, it runs a scan to identify the illness, comparing it to the known viruses and bacteria. The process then might longer, from some six or seven hours, approximately"

"So it's no real good if someone's got the Disease, since he or she will probably go beyond the possibility of cryogenic freezing by the time the results come out"

"Well, that's why we asked you to come and help us. The more scans it runs, and the more information it gathers, the faster its processing will become. Any other questions?"

"Just one more" said Heero again, "how could you tell Dr. Sixto died victim of the Disease, since by the time he died, or at least was found dead, the system had already suffered a breakdown. Wouldn't it have been impossible to detect the Disease by then?"

There was a very pregnant silence filling up the tiny room. Lady Une stared at Heero, mildly shocked, while the pilots did it with interest, looking back and forth from a very serious-looking Heero, to an uneasy white-coated man. In the end, the young man before them sighed, almost tiredly.

"No, we've never been sure" admitted the scientist, "that was just a speculation we made after all the previous Disease-induced deaths we've seen. But to tell you the truth, the cause of his death will be a gap in our investigation until the system functions properly once more. Then we'll be able to identify the true reason of it."

This time, he didn't ask for questions, clearly not wanting to be interrupted again. Heero wasn't going to this time though, what they all really wanted was to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Now, if you'd just follow me, please"

The man, named Dr. Sen by the way, led them along various corridors, until they reached a large one, with three doors on each side.

"Behind these doors, there are chambers where physical tests will be applied to you by our very qualified personnel. If you would just enter one per chamber to begin with this... And you Lady, please follow me"

The pilots each went through a different door and found themselves in a very small room with only a locker and a seat. A voice from an unseen speaker gave out some instructions after a while.

"Welcome. Please remove your clothes and place them inside the locker. Do not leave anything on, remove everything, as well as your underwear and shoes. If you are wearing caps, earrings, wristwatches, or any other jewelry and, or, accessory, please remove those as well and leave them inside the locker. If your hair is tied up, please let it loose"

The pilots obliged after being reassured that no one would be watching them strip down to their birthday suit.

"Now, please proceed to the next room." Once inside, they found a shower to their right. "Please go into the shower and meticulously clean yourselves using the products you'll find inside."

Being that the last request before finally entering a larger chamber with many items spread all around, the testing began and several scanners and cameras gathered plenty of information all the while. After being tested for resistance, strength, flexibility, and many other things, the pilots had to take a shower once more before handing out samples of practically everything imaginable. Probably the most uncomfortable part of the exam, that was, once they admitted that working out naked wasn't really that bad.

"Thanks for your cooperation" said Dr. Sen this time, once they were all out, properly dressed. "As I told you a while ago, I'll have your results in about four hours"

"And what about Disease samples?" asked Quatre this time.

"Disease samples?"

"Yes, you said you needed to teach the computer to recognize a healthy person, but I'm quite sure you also need to teach it how to recognize someone with the Disease, right?"

"Oh, right! Well, no need to worry about that. Samples of that have already been collected from those at the sickbay"

Duo felt an involuntary shudder from Wufei standing next to him. He had the funny feeling Wufei was determined to go back there once they were all out.

"So, thank you once more. You are the fittest people in the whole headquarters and our information will be of great value" Dr. Sen was saying as he led them back to the exit. "Now you guys go and do whatever you like, I'll have someone call you when you can come and get your results, all right?"

XXX XXX XXX

When the pilots left the place, Duo was looking forward to have a nice little talk with Wufei. When he least expected it, though, the Chinese pilot had already disappeared to who knows where, and Duo assumed Wufei needed the solitude, to get his ideas rearranged. Once again the pilots parted their ways to try and make themselves busy for at least the next four hours.

"What's up with Wufei?" asked Heero once he and Duo were safely curled up in Duo's bed. Heero was leaning on the pillows and Duo rested on his chest. Music played in the background from Duo's Mac.

"Well…" Duo sighed, "I guess he's starting to feel lonely"

Duo raised himself from his warm spot at Heero's chest, braid flopping gently to rest atop a pillow, and stared deep into blue pools. Their faces were only inches apart, and Heero could feel Duo's warm breath caressing his lips.

"Lonely?" asked Heero, trying hard not to quiver beneath Duo's harsh stare. Something in it made him uneasy, and those amethyst eyes burned with some unexpected fire.

"If I died…" Heero was shocked to hear such words, "would you cry over my grave?"

"Wha-?"

"Would you?"

"You're not going to die, Duo"

That answer did not seem to satisfy Duo. He had begun to breath heavily, tightly clutching the blanket beneath them both. Heero wondered where all this had come from.

"I… you… it's just that…" Duo tried to no avail to find some words to excuse his sudden train of thought. That's what happens when you speak before processing your speech in your mind… Duo often did that, but he couldn't help it. Something about the present situation unbalanced him in his most inner self and voicing his qualms proved to be relieving.

"Forget it" finally said Duo, chewing on his lip and backing away from Heero, taking his original position, where he was able to listen to Heero's steady heartbeat once more.

"But-"

"Forget it!" he said louder than he intended. "Just… never mind me, I can't seem to be able to say something useful nowadays… I wonder why am I here in the first place…"

"Duo…"

"Let's just talk about something else… what do you think about Dr. Sixto?"

"Er… I… Duo, what's bothering you?"

Duo lifted himself again and sat on his calves. Heero rearranged his position to be level with Duo and to look straight into his eyes. "What happened to you this morning?" he asked, sensing that part of Duo's strange behaviour was due to that morning's events. He remembered the episode at the dinning hall, and had actually thought it was over, after assuring Duo he'd never even dream of abandoning him, but clearly, that was only a brief introduction.

"Why won't you just leave me alone!" burst out Duo, "I already told you there's nothing wrong and that I don't want to talk about it!"

"I can't just leave you like this!" yelled Heero back, "I care for you and I can't be at ease knowing there's something bothering you!"

"But – there – is – nothing – bothering – me!" Duo said loud and slow, pounding down on the bed with a fist at the last word.

They were both staring at each other breathing hard through gritted teeth. Suddenly, Heero's face fell and he left the bed. Duo changed his furious expression for surprise and regret. "No Heero, I didn't-" he stammered.

The stoic Japanese didn't answer. He just moved towards the door, wrenched it open and stopped before crossing the frame to say some last words to Duo.

"I've already told you I'll always care for you… and I have even proved it to you on countless times… but if you shut me out of your life well… I just want you to be happy…" and he left, silently closing the door behind him.

Duo had only been able to stand up and see him go, frozen by his words. He felt incredibly stupid and soon tears burned his eyes. He fell crying on his bed, angered with himself, punching the innocent pillows and ravaging his already rickety mattress.

XXX XXX XXX

Hours gone by, the pilots had yet to receive a call from the labs. Lady Une was the one to get called though. She was still mining her paperwork, ready to give out a full report to the government about the good news regarding the newest system version, when she received a call coming from the labs.

"Lady Une?" came Dr. Sen's voice through the telephone. Was it just her imagination, or did he sound nervous? Maybe something had gone wrong once more and her legendary fury outburst made him tremble.

"Yes?" she answered bracing herself for the worst, almost getting the shredder ready for her new report.

"I… it's Dr. Sen… I was wondering if you could come down here for a minute"

"Is something wrong doctor?"

"Er…" there was a short pause where Lady Une could hear stuttering on the other side of the receiver. "Maybe it's best if you came here personally"

"Dr. Sen, I hope nothing's gone wrong again, because I'm really looking forward to getting rid of this quarantine…"

"Oh, well, then I guess… er… please come here"

"I'll be there in a minute" Lady Une sighed, rolling over in her head what she might yell at the scientists when she discovered the system had had a new breakdown. All along the way she sort of kept rehearsing it, breathing deeply, trying to calm herself. After all, maybe it wasn't bad news after all. Maybe it was too good to talk about it over the phone… but all the same, hadn't Dr. Sen sounded a bit nervous to her?

She reached the labs soon and was rather hesitant to open the door. But oh well, what could be the worst thing that could've happened? She should probably start thinking about a new secretary, with all the paperwork she felt coming by.

"What's this you wanted to talk to me about, Dr. Sen?" she said once she spotted Dr. Sen checking some data in a computer screen along with one of his colleagues.

"Lady! Please, come here" he motioned for her to sit next to them. "Take a look at this."

Lady Une was looking at a bunch of graphics that made no sense to her whatsoever. "What exactly am I looking at, Dr.?"

"These are the test results for the boys" he said. Now Lady Une was definitely sure he was nervous. His voice quivered with every word he uttered. "But I'm afraid we've had some problems…"

"What kind of problems?"

"Lady" Dr. Sen dragged his chair to face Lady Une and looked straight into her eyes. His tone had changed from uneasy to dead serious. "The computer mixed up their data…"

"So you want me to call them again?"

"No…" Dr. Sen bit his lower lip and swallowed hard. "Oh god, this is difficult," he whispered. "We have discovered… we have discovered the virus in one of the pilots, but since the data is all mixed up, we can't tell which one of the boys has the Disease…"

XXX XXX XXX

**A/N: **Oooohhhhh! I'm sooo evil! And you know what's the best part? That I LOVE it! I'm really sorry for all of you guys who already want to know about who's sick and who's not, and blah, blah, blah… I'm giving out a special apology to Nikkler, who since the beginning has been waiting for the answer. I'm sorry darling, but I have to do this, only way to make sure you read the rest of the fic! Ho, ho!

Well, I hope this evil cliffhanger is of your liking guys, and I would really like to see some new reviews. Reviews inspire me and make me almost as happy as a coffee/sugar high! PLEASE! If I get enough reviews… say at least 10, I'll update even sooner that I did this time, k?

See ya next chapter!


	7. Just a Headache

Hi! I know it took me quite a while to get this done, but please bear with me, my past weeks have been kinda shitty. My brain was sucked dry of ideas with one heck of a horrible exam week. But I'd never forget about you, my dear readers, I really hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Just a small warning: there's some lemon content in this chapter.

XXX XXX XXX

**Just A Headache**

Trying to make up for his moments of weakness, Wufei disappeared immediately after the tests and ended up getting his sword from his bedroom and walking to a deserted room somewhere in the headquarters. Practicing his swordplay always relaxed him and helped him forget. It was the most comforting memory he had of his past… his only connection to Treize after his death.

He started out slow just to warm up. From his first contact with the sword, he somehow felt all his worries leave him through the blade of his weapon. All the messed up ideas he'd gathered that morning about the Disease were slowly fading, replaced by the firm conviction of working hard for the rest of the day. Even though he'd just done a whole physical test, Wufei found enough energy inside him to carry out his basic training. The easiest part only raised his body temperature a bit and when he felt warn enough he knew he was ready to begin.

Exercise had always been a great way of escaping for him… it was actually the only way he'd had of escaping. The past war and his Gundam were only good to confuse him. No matter how much he liked piloting his Altron, the ideas of right and wrong, justice and injustice screamed out to him their loudest whenever he entered the cockpit. Flying away in his Altron wasn't what he needed, not when even being in contact with it made his mind fly as well with all the worries of the meaning of his actions.

Practicing like he was doing now had never stirred his beliefs. It was just moving in time with his particular rhythm and nothing else. It was like a dance, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, and always with a soothing flow. He barely even noticed the increase of speed and complexity in his movements. All he knew was that he had to push himself to the limit and let all his bottled up worries be torn apart with every swish of the blade.

After a while he paused to catch a breath. He had been practicing nonstop for quite some hours. Now he could feel drops of sweat roll down his face and his body trying to cool itself down. To regulate his breathing, which was coming down in sharp gasps, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, holding the air inside his lungs for a moment and then releasing it. He supposed that training for just an hour more would be enough, but then he saw it… as he closed his eyes for the third time in an attempt to regulate his breathing, a sudden flash of the frozen girl assaulted his mind.

His eyes snapped open, wide as plates, almost frightened. He had assumed that all his training would erase those thoughts for the remainder of the day, but even the slightest pause made his mind go back to the sickbay. All color left his face and he felt his heart drop to his feet. Once again he was breathing with difficulty, but not because of the exercise. The hand tightly clutching his sword began to tremble and his mouth went dry. For some reason, the very idea of going back to such unnerving thoughts made him feel a pang in his heart. One could say he was actually scared of remembering.

Not wanting to dwell on such dark thoughts, he forgot all about resting and reassumed his training. However, he found it hard to continue. As he was performing a frontal thrust with his sword, an image of what the girl might look like when awake appeared right in front of him, and he could see how he penetrated the fragile figure, ending with her life. It had seemed so real that Wufei dropped the sword surprised.

His mind was playing him an evil prank. There was no one in there with him, it had all been an illusion. Wufei shook his head as if to get rid of the vision and retrieved his sword from the floor. This time, he tried a different set of moves, but no matter what he did, the girl always returned, and he could always feel like he was really killing her.

Finally he threw the sword to a side and turned to look at his hands. His vision was clouded and blurry, and he began to panic so much, he even mistook his own sweat for blood.

"NOOOO!"

Clenching his fists tightly, he ran back to the place where his weapon had fallen. In one swift move he picked it up and began slicing madly at the air in front of him, always killing her…

"STOP IT!" he yelled to no one in particular.

His body was now wildly protesting, little by little giving in to tiredness. He hadn't slept well the last night and now he had overdone himself. Everything ached but he still ignored it, slicing at an invisible being, hoping that by doing so he'd drive it out of his mind. Tears now burned his eyes and in the end he fell like struck by lightning. He couldn't feel his limbs, only a sharp pain coming from somewhere in his head, and a fading sensation in his whole body. Then everything blackened as he passed out.

XXX XXX XXX

_"Why won't you just leave me alone!"_

Duo's words reverberated in his mind. That simple sentence tortured him over and over. Heero was sure the American pilot hadn't meant to be too harsh, but the braided idiot hadn't realized he had hurt Heero deeply. No matter how tough he looked on the outside, on the inside Heero was easily broken to pieces if the right words and actions were put together.

All of them were greatly disturbed by what had been happening during the past days, but he still had the strong conviction that this ought to be something to unite them, rather than divide them. He had hardly talked to the others in the past days like he used to, like they didn't have a care in the world. These times were even worse than the war, where at least they all tried to make the most of their time together, knowing that they might not live another day to do so.

The corridors all looked the same to Heero, so he never really bothered to check where he was going. All he could think about in those moments was Duo and his rejection. Heero thought they were already past all the secrets and barriers, that they were ready to open up to each other no matter what. Clearly he was wrong, as something made Duo feel miserable and he was not willing to tell Heero about it. Heero was feeling guilty, even though he was certain he'd done nothing wrong.

He entered his bedroom before he noticed the place where he'd arrived at. It suddenly dawned on him the identity of his present location, and the plainness of his walls were somehow screaming Maxwell's name and Heero's sin. He stared around with a lost sight, panting, his chest unexplainably heavy. His eyes landed on his laptop and he took it before dashing out of the place. Everything in there reminded him about Duo, and he had to escape. Heero feared for his sanity if he remained there any longer.

True, he had been trained to become the perfect soldier. Death was just a close friend that would whisper sweet nothings in his ear while he was alone or asleep. He was not afraid of this virus, nor about the risks that investigating it represented. For so long he had gotten accustomed to the idea that he was not meant to live long that death itself became so usual and monotone; no meaning came out of it.

But then the perfect soldier had met the motor-mouth pilot. Duo and his joy brought doubts to his beliefs and he became more distant of Death with every passing day of the braided guy's presence. Only after he realized that love was a common subject between the two, he discovered his long lost will to live. No longer did he think about dying. Now it was more about surviving by all means, even if it was just to look into Duo's Prussian eyes once more, holding him in his embrace and savoring his ever-smiling lips. For the first time in his life, after he'd accepted Duo's love, did Heero become afraid of Death, and found himself avoiding even its mention at any cost. Duo brought such strong feelings in Heero, something that no one, not even Relena (1), had managed to accomplish. That in itself was an amazing feat in Heero's eyes.

But now, the sole reason for his life was slowly fading away, willingly leaving him behind, alone and confused. Heero was not only afraid for his death, he was also terrified of losing Duo, and now he felt scared, like some sort of a lost boy, crying out in the dark even though no one can listen to him. Duo was blocking him out and Heero felt helpless. All he really wanted to do was hold the boy and comfort him, telling him everything would be all right. He wanted to escape and take Duo with him, but he couldn't. He couldn't even tell what was wrong with his lover, and that was enough to frustrate him.

The only thing he could come up with to momentarily put such troubles aside was currently tightly clutched beneath one arm. His laptop would have to become a sort of life line to support him. The only moments when he truly lost himself, apart from those he spent with Duo, were those where he was deep in concentration doing whatever in his laptop. All for the sake of his mind's well being.

Far from their dormitories, he found a dark room that seemed to have been empty for quite a long time. He reached out for the light switch and when he clicked it, a dim yellow light filled the messy room. The bed was unmade and papers lay in utter disorder all over the desk. The weirdest part of it all was that the door wasn't locked. If someone had been staying at this room, it was obvious he or she would bolt the door for the sake of their privacy. Heero had never been to this part of the HQ so he had no idea there was actually rooms here. Still, he began to back away until some of the papers lying on top caught his eye.

Eyeing the room, as if expecting someone to come and tell him off for prying, he approached the papers and confirmed his initial thoughts about them. He had clearly read something on them about the virus, half printed, half scribbled in haste. Some sort of scientist must be living in that room… but why was there such a big mess all around?

Gathering more courage, he started shuffling trough the papers, laying his laptop on the floor. Most of them had far too many graphics and scientific language Heero was barely acquainted with. He felt sort of annoyed at the fact he didn't quite understand what it all meant, and was just about to give up hope in deciphering it when he found beneath it all a black-leather-cover book. The name on it made Heero gasp in surprise.

"Sixto…" he whispered.

Some noise was heard outside, startling him, and in one swift motion he gathered his laptop and tucked it safely under one arm along with the book and approached the door silently. Whatever had made the noise outside seemed to be no longer there. He turned the knob as silently as he could and opened the door just a bit, enough to let him see what was going on outside without being noticed. Apparently there was no one there and the reached for the switch once more, this time to turn the light off. With a catlike move he darted out of the place and headed for a much more private place where he could investigate on his new findings.

XXX XXX XXX

Quatre and Trowa seemed to be the only normal pilots left so far. They couldn't tell for sure, but they were almost certain there were some issues amongst the rest of their friends that kept them from being at ease. As soon as the tests were over, Wufei had mysteriously disappeared once more and both Duo and Heero had left to Duo's bedroom only waving a quick goodbye to the couple. Quatre and Trowa turned to look at each other, shrugged and headed, hand in hand, towards the dinning hall on Quatre's request.

The little blond pilot kept mysteriously silent all the way and Trowa, knowing his lover as well as he did, didn't fail to notice the unusual silence.

"Something wrong?" he asked chancing a quick glance at the thoughtful boy.

Quatre bit his lip without answering at first. "I just… well, I somehow feel like we're slowly distancing ourselves from all the others"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not talking about us, specifically, but I do have this feeling that nothing is how it used to be…"

"Well it can't, not with the Disease and all"

"Hmmm…"

Quatre fell into silence once more until they reached the hall and grabbed each something to eat. Once at the table, he started speaking again, intent on letting his lover understand his point.

"I haven't spoken to Duo like I used to in what seems like ages" he said, "and Wufei keeps running away from us."

Trowa sucked on his spoon looking down at the boy with interest. Quatre was staring at his food and didn't meet Trowa's gaze. Trowa took the spoon out of his mouth and sighed.

"Well, I think we all need time to think things over" the tall pilot said, "especially with the present events"

"Well yes, but lately everyone seems to be… sad, and annoyed! I mean, we don't lack reasons to feel like that, but if we keep acting so glumly this will slowly eat us from the inside. We shouldn't be so distant now, we should be together, united. Something like this is some sort of a test for us, to see how strong our friendship can be… I don't want to fail."

Trowa stared quietly at the blonde trough his passionate little speech. He reached out and took hold of one of his lover's hands and placed a kiss on it. Quatre looked at Trowa slightly surprised.

"Whatever happens" Trowa whispered, "I'll always be there by your side. Even if the rest act like real asses, you can be certain of one thing, and that's that I will never ever leave your side."

Quatre's cheeks were tinted slightly red. Trowa's dark green eyes were set on Quatre's and some silent understanding passed between the two. The little blonde was happy and there was a smile on his face to prove it. He had always felt a little bit jealous of Heero and Duo, thinking that maybe he wasn't really meant for Trowa the way the other two seemed to be meant for each other. He somehow felt like Trowa didn't deserve someone like him.

Over and over again, the tall pilot had made his greatest efforts to prove otherwise, but Quatre was still unsure. And contrasting with Heero and Duo, although unknown to him, this Disease business had served to bring him closer to Trowa instead of parting them. Ever since he found out his sister had died, Trowa had never left his side, and it was then when Quatre became fully aware of how much the cinnamon-haired pilot really loved him.

They finished their food in a much happier note than at the beginning. As soon as their plates were cleared, Trowa led the way towards his bedroom. Quatre couldn't help going back to his former thoughts of the slowly distancing pilots and was only barely aware of Trowa's hand pulling him in the right direction and that he had muttered something about resting for a while. When the lights hit him all other thoughts were immediately erased.

"Wha…?" Quatre stared around bewildered.

"Don't tell me you've been ignoring me all the way" said Trowa in a fake hurt voice.

"I…" well, Quatre now remembered Trowa had definitely said something about going there, but he wasn't sure if more had been said on the way. "I…"

Trowa chuckled and closed the door behind them, bolting it. Quatre had been about to apologize when he heard Trowa's chuckles. Instead he gave him a playful punch on one arm and made himself comfortable on the only chair in the place. Trowa took a seat right in front of him at the bed and blanked his face once more staring deeply into Quatre's eyes.

"What?" asked Quatre suddenly feeling under a spotlight.

"I just need to know if you're ok"

"I'm fine…"

"Really?"

"Trowa… I feel sad because of the rest. I just wish we could all be together once more, talking and joking like the kids we are, but somehow we just can't seem to get a break. I wish I knew what was going on trough each of their heads so I could help them, but I can't, and what's worse, I can't seem to be able to approach them either"

"You can't just carry everyone's problems, let them fix it by themselves"

"Maybe I should, but they're my friends and I just can't help but feeling worried"

"Quatre they're my friends as well, but there are certain things that I can't fix. All you or I can do is make sure we're there when they come asking for our help"

Quatre crossed his arms and leaned back on the chair sighing heavily. "All I want is for them to stop being so stuck up their own asses!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will all be ok in the end…"

Quatre smiled as sweetly as Quatre can only smile. He nodded and stood up, making his way towards the bed. He kneeled right in front of Trowa and placed his head on his lover's lap, looking up with those adorable eyes of his.

"You know, these are dark times, but as long as you're here with me, I feel strong enough to take on the whole universe…"

Trowa suddenly felt a rush of unexplainable warmth to his heart. Never before had he felt so loved in his life like he did now. The blonde's confession made his head spin and, no matter how corny it might sound, he felt like floating on a cloud. It was not the first time Quatre told him he loved him, but Trowa had never realized how important and strong their bond was.

A kiss brought him back to reality. He stared at Quatre and held him in his arms, like a precious boy made out of crystal that might break at any moment. Trowa ran a hand through Quatre's golden hair and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. They leaned back on the bed and stood there for a while, just looking up at the ceiling.

"You know" said Trowa suddenly, "we never really had dessert."

Quatre turned to look at him, disbelief written all over his face. One moment they were all poetic and now the only thing Trowa could think about was food. He stared unblinkingly at his lover and Trowa turned around when he felt his gaze, grinning sheepishly (2). After the mention of dessert, Quatre was looking puzzled but decided to comply with the tall pilot's wishes. Maybe they really did need a break from all those profound thoughts and going down for something sweet wasn't such a bad idea.

What came next was unexpected. Trowa rolled over until he was propped against his elbows, right on top of Quatre. The little blonde stared quizzically at the guy on top and arched an eyebrow.

"What kind of dessert do you have in mind?" Quatre asked, still unsure of Trowa's actions.

"Something… sweet…" Trowa answered and leaned down to press his lips against Quatre's.

He licked the smaller boy's lower lip, timidly asking for entrance. Quatre parted his lips and felt Trowa's mouth explore his mouth slowly and tenderly. He decided that slow wasn't enough and used his own tongue to fasten the rhythm, making his own way into Trowa's mouth. While they were at it, Trowa's hand began to caress Quatre's cheek making him giggle. They pulled apart for some air and Trowa grinned sweetly and mischievously.

Quatre underneath him giggled once more. Using his right hand he pulled Trowa close for another kiss and entwined his left one with Trowa's right hand. The long set of kisses was quickly arousing the little blonde and soon he discovered he wasn't really the only one.

"Trowa… we just had dinner" gasped Quatre when they parted for some air.

"So?" Trowa eyed him mischievously smirking.

Trowa lifted himself up and brought their hips closer, making both arousals grind together. Quatre gasped in pleasure and tightened his grip on Trowa's hand. Trowa smiled and slowly and steadily began to move so as to tease Quatre's member. The little blonde was now moaning with pleasure and threw his head backwards allowing Trowa to kiss, bite and nibble on his neck.

Letting momentarily go, Trowa began to undo the many buttons in Quatre's shirt as well as on his trousers. Tracing down a path with his hand, his mouth followed soon after, licking Quatre's hardened nipples and kissing his belly button. Quatre had a tight grip on the beds sheets, panting and moaning with every touch.

Painfully slow, Trowa's left hand made his way along Quatre's chest, down to his belly and into his trousers. This time, Quatre gasped more audibly surprised to feel the warm hand encircling his throbbing cock and moving gently up and down in a steady rhythm. While Quatre kept moaning loudly, Trowa quickened the strokes and had the Arabian pilot whimpering with extreme pleasure in no time.

"Stop…" gasped Quatre.

Looking down at his lover's eyes Trowa was worried he'd done something wrong, but the sweet smile coming from Quatre's lips enticed him and he allowed himself to be pulled into another kiss while the blonde undid his buttons in turn.

Quatre quickly took a hold of Trowa as well, startling the taller pilot. Nudging himself up, the blonde now pinned Trowa underneath. He let himself slide down off the bed and removed Trowa's trousers. He lifted both Trowa's legs a bit, lowered his own pair of denims, and entered his still startled lover. It was usually Trowa the one to take such initiative, but now Quatre was pressing up his spot sending his brain spinning with pleasure. All the while, Quatre kept his hands on Trowa's member, following the quickened rhythm until it was time for both of them to come with cries of a reached orgasm.

Panting, they leaned side by side on the bed, smiling with smug satisfaction. "Well, that definitely was sweet" said Trowa after recovering his breath. Ignoring the sticky mess they'd just made, tiredness overwhelmed them and they both fell asleep on each other's arms. (3)

XXX XXX XXX

Duo's eyes were already red and puffy from all the crying. Everything in his room lay about smashed and broken to little pieces, product of his fit of rage, and now he was curled up on the floor, tired of banging his fists against it. Apparently the only thing still in one piece was his laptop. He had tried to throw it away, but when the tears cleared from his eyes, the sight of the white artifact brought an image of a typing boy with a black spandex short and a green tank top. His courage faltered and after dropping the thing on his bed, he himself dropped on the floor, yelling and pounding on it till his hands were bloody.

After Heero had left, he had fallen, crying, on the bed. He had punched the stuffing out of his pillows, but the anger wouldn't leave him. He had been an idiot… no, wait, a fucking asshole. The only one he deeply cared about more than anything else in the world had just left because of him. Duo was feeling desperate, like he had reached an impenetrable barrier made up by his feelings, fears and inability to communicate without losing his temper.

His life was downright shitty at the moment and the only way of escaping had been pushed away mercilessly in nothing more but a childish tantrum. For a while now Duo had been feeling useless, like he wasn't really doing anything to help his friends. Those thoughts exasperated him and put him in a very bad mood. And then, right when he was hoping he could forget about it all, resting next to his beloved Heero, he had been unable to express his calls for help. Duo knew that he could always trust Heero, and that he could talk to him no matter what, but he had been too busy playing the martyr that he let the opportunity escape him when he most needed it.

Duo desperately fought for recalling Lady Une's words from that morning, in an attempt of making him feel better. She had said that he had the amazing power of bringing happiness to others, not just by his own cheerful mood, but because he was one of the few that could actually say he was really doing something against the Disease.

"A lot of people wish they were where you're at right now" she had said moving up to the capsules at the sickbay. "Can you imagine what people are feeling like right now? Most of them feel powerless, helpless, because they know there's nothing within their reach that they can do. You are here now, Duo, with us. You are a Preventer and you're fighting against the Disease. Don't falter now, millions of people need you and your friends, there's no reason to feel like you're just on the way"

But despite her wise words, Duo still felt bad.

After most effectively wreaking his whole bedroom, and by doing so hurting himself along the way, he felt no better nor satisfied. The only thing he wanted, he said to himself as his body slowly began to protest, was to be with Heero. Forget about anything and anyone at the moment. The only thing that could make him happy was Heero.

Duo tried to get up, but his whole body was aching. He dropped back to the floor and tried to ignore the sensation of having just being trashed. To no avail, though, as his legs were numb, his arms tired and his fists bloody, his heart feeling heavier than the sun and his head pounding so hard, it obscured his vision. He vaguely wondered if crying as much as he had just done could have such side effects…

It didn't matter now, tough, he just fell into darkness, not sure if he was passing out or just giving in to sleep.

XXX XXX XXX

**A/N:** He, he… he, he, he… MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, I love this... Eeeep!**_:runs away from angry mob:_ **Please don't kill me!

(1) I'm sure Relena encouraged death wishes in Heero... I would have dearly liked to point that out, but I didn't want to ruin such an emotive moment, he, he.

(2) I'd kill to see Trowa grin sheepishly.

(3) Now that's something I never thought of doing… my first ever 3+4 lemon!


	8. Who's Got It?

**Who's Got It?**

"Duo! Duo, can you hear me?"

"I think he moved… yeah, look, he's awake!"

"Duo!"

The ceiling above him was an unfamiliar one. Although, more than a ceiling, it was a spinning blur of white. It made him sick and he shut his eyes tightly hoping it would pass soon.

"Duo, can you hear me?"

When he reopened his eyes, the blur was now a combination of golden, rosy and aquamarine. In his still hazy state he couldn't really tell what was the noise he was hearing, but it kept nagging at his mind, and soon he felt annoyed.

"DUO!"

The yell issued from what he could now identify as Quatre made him spring up to a sitting position and his heart raise its speed. The world around began to spin faster than before and he suddenly felt the urge to throw up. Maybe Quatre could read his movements because he already had a bin ready for it. After he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his focus became clearer and the combination of colors was slowly taking the shape of his friend.

"Are you all right?" asked the little blonde.

"I think so" croaked Duo in a very weak voice that even surprised himself.

"That's a relief."

This time it had been a woman who spoke. Turning around Duo saw Noin standing on the doorway, leaning on it and looking mildly worried at the pilot. "We were starting to think you weren't going to wake up for a while."

"What's going on?" Duo asked in the same hoarse voice as before.

"Well, Lady Une asked me and Zechs to go and look for you guys. We found Quatre here and Trowa first, although it took us quite a while to get to them. They were locked in Trowa's bedroom, sleeping like babies" she shot a mischievous look at the blonde who blushed lightly and decided to busy himself with putting the bin away to avoid Noin's stare. Duo noticed this and giggled softly. "We went looking for Wufei next, but we couldn't find him, Zechs's on it right now. I found you in your bedroom made one hell of a mess and with blood dripping from your hands… I must say you gave me quite a fright. What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine. I just… had a little disagreement with my room's decoration"

"But…"

"I said I was fine, nothing happened, no one attacked me, I was just in a bad mood!"

"No kidding…" Noin eyed him suspiciously, but she sensed Duo wouldn't want to talk about it at the moment, so she dropped it.

"Where's Trowa?" asked Duo hoping to change the subject.

"He's looking for Heero" answered Quatre this time. "We thought he was going to be with you."

Duo pursed his lips remembering how he'd reacted some hours ago… or at least what he thought were some hours ago.

"What time is it?"

"It's nearly seven, why?"

"Just wonderin'"

So it had been at least a couple of hours… Duo wondered what had happened to Heero. He wanted to get up and look for him, ask for forgiveness, but right now he seriously doubted his ability to stand up and remain up. His whole body felt like it was made of jelly.

He let his vision wander around and he quickly discovered they were at the hospital wing. There were a nice number of beds all around him, and the one he was laying on was the closest to the entrance. The place was empty except for him, Quatre and Noin. For the first time Duo noticed his hands were bandaged and he had some other bandages here and there, mainly along his arms. He hadn't realized how bad he'd really screwed himself until then.

"Why did Lady Une send you to look for us?" asked Duo.

"No idea" Noin made her way to his bed with her arms crossed and sat on the edge, "she just told us it was important to find you, but she wouldn't tell why…"

"NOIN! QUATRE!"

Outside they could hear Zechs yelling. The sound startled them all and it even made Quatre jump. It really sounded urgent and Noin rushed to the door and wrenched it open. On the other side was Zechs carrying an unconscious Wufei. Noin made way and Zechs laid Wufei gently on the bed next to Duo's.

"Call the nurse" ordered Zechs, and Noin rushed to find her.

"What happened?" inquired Quatre.

"I found him like this in one of the east wing rooms. He had his sword next to him, so my guess is he passed out while he was training"

One of the nurses followed closely by Noin entered the room and immediately began the process of reviving Wufei.

XXX XXX XXX

The size of the HQ still amazed Heero, as he found yet another room that appeared to be empty. Never before had he been at that side of the HQ, being so busy and always away as he was. However, he made a mental note to himself of exploring more of it whenever he had the chance. Who knew what else might he find.

Making himself comfortable on the floor, he turned his laptop on, set it right in front of him, and proceeded to get some enlightening lecture. The book he'd grabbed from what was apparently Sixto's room, seemed to be some sort of diary or journal. There were a lot of useless inscriptions, mainly about Sixto's personal life and work at the Preventers. A quick scan through the book proved that all of it was similar, with some odd exceptions here and there. Heero paused his flipping of the pages when he found some more graphics like the ones he'd seen on the disarray of papers back at the first room.

It was some sort of test recording, displaying something's increase. He turned the page and found another graph of the sort, this time showing something's decrease, though. A lot of numbers were here and there making no apparent sense and more hastily scribbled notes. Heero decided to return to the first page and make a proper start, otherwise, he highly doubted he'd understand anything written in there. He supposed he could skip the really unimportant stuff, like real personal stuff.

_Day 3, Month 4, Year AC. 198_

_The experiments have shown no change whatsoever. The labs in the Preventers headquarters made it all easier, quite unlike the one I had back home, where everything was old and even secondhand. I have managed to interest some of my colleagues in the research, Sen so far has proved to be quite efficient and helpful._

_I have faith that the product will be exactly what has been asked for._

_Day 27, Month 5, Year AC. 198_

_The experiment is taking way longer than what I had expected. Sen has now started to notice something, so I must be cautious and remain alert. Anything could change now, and if things take any longer, much may be at risk._

_Day 18, Month 8, Year AC. 198_

_There was a large disagreement with Sen. Not even after discussing it for a whole week has he agreed. But his assistance is no longer required. The product is coming as expected and soon it will be completed for its introduction to the market._

_Oddly enough, the later stages of its development are quicker than the first ones. The product somehow seems to be evolving on its own and as soon as it's fully mature, no further changes might be needed._

Heero knew beforehand that the Preventers had had the labs for quite some time. He was also familiar with the developing of various experiments meant to help ordinary life. It was almost as if Preventers were just another large company with products of their own. It was all part of their helping people. However, Heero had no idea what kind of product might Sixto have been talking about in this diary of his. As far as he knew, viral research hadn't begun until month 6, and the scientist had been talking about it for at least three months before.

Maybe it was something else, some other product ordered by the Preventers. No details about the research were written so far.

_Day 10, Month 9, Year AC. 198_

_Sen came back once more, but he has lost track of the experiment and I no longer need his presence. It has become a one man's work and in no way will I admit him back. Besides, it might affect the outcome in many ways… the client won't be satisfied and we must remember that the client is always right._

_Day 11, Month 9, Year AC. 198_

_The product is fully mature._

That last entry left Heero wondering. There were no further notes on it, and next came the graph he'd first seen, the one showing an increase. At the bottom of the page were a series of letters that made no sense.

"A-A-S-C-J-M-Y-H" Heero read out loud." Hmm…"

For some hunch he'd had, he began some research of his own in his laptop. He searched for any files related to Sixto and found quite a lot of articles. Doctor Sixto was greatly known in the headquarters for the great amount of research he'd done in so few months of having worked there. Even Heero had heard a lot about him and had been greatly interested for a while in his work after personally meeting him… that was until he was sent away to investigate the virus.

_Day 15, Month 9, Year AC. 198_

_Sudden decrease. Unexplainable. Under close observation._

Another short note appeared right before the second graph. Also, more senseless letters and numbers.

"M6, J12, O28… wonder what that means" Heero typed the letters in his laptop, ready for some serious hacking business. While the computer did its job, Heero continued with his lecture, skipping some useless notes.

_Day 17, Month 11, Year AC. 198_

_No longer safe, different place. Unwanted changes, different outcome…_

_H I 8 8 A G 1 P 4_

"One file found?" The computer beeped to signal the end of the search. Heero was surprised to find something that matched the kind of inscription he'd been looking for. When he tried to open the file, he encountered a few barriers.

"Access denied? We'll see about that…" he turned to look at the rest of the numbers and letters. He typed the last set of letters and numbers in the diary. "Access denied. Well, if this doesn't work then I'll have to do it the hard way"

After entering the first set of letters a small screen appeared at the middle of his computer's monitor. Little by little, a silhouette of what was unmistakably a man formed itself in the screen. Light illuminated it and the man was revealed as no other than Sixto himself. This was a recording he'd done at some point in his life and Heero assumed it was something important to have been hidden and protected the way it was.

"Third month, day 6 of the year AC. 198. Just a week ago I have received word from the buyers. Their demands are complicated, but with the new installation they will be accomplished for sure. Last time, it wasn't efficient and there were complaints, but this time I have managed to obtain certain samples that I had never had access to, that are certain to optimize the results.

"Under the cover of new pharmaceutics, most of my colleagues have cooperated in one way or another. It's not yet too obvious what we're doing, so there's no risk yet, but eventually I'll have to isolate myself and avoid external cooperation. Preventers know nothing yet and information must not leak, it is too valuable and much could be lost."

Heero's suspicions began to rise. Something was definitely not right with Sixto if he was keeping secrets from the Preventers. The screen closed and a few seconds later a new one took its place.

"Seventh month, day 12 of the year AC. 198. The experiment is taking some time, but I trust it will be finished within schedule. Most of the clients have been wondering but they know better than to meddle too much. The contract is done anyways and there is no going back. Just for further reference, I have added here some of the many writings I have made in the past. If all goes well, these formulas will be improved."

The next images were formulas, drawings, graphs and sketches. The familiarity with them made Heero's senses tingle. He'd seen most of them before in his own work for the Preventers, when he was researching some illegal affairs…

"All of these…" the image of Sixto reappeared, "are the most common drugs I could find that will bond with the new element that I'm developing. Clients will be satisfied with it. It will be something never seen before…"

Heero gasped audibly. Now he knew where he'd seen those formulas and other stuff before. The Preventers had entrusted him along with his fellow pilots on a mission to discover the origin of new, stronger drugs in the black market. It had been the last mission they'd been on before the first cases of virus appeared.

No wonder doctor Sixto kept it all well hidden, he was doing something illegal behind his employer's back and even using his own equipment for it. Shame they hadn't caught him before he died. He was the sole creator of these drugs, surely making a great fortune with them.

A new window appeared in his laptop. It asked for a new password.

"Password?" Heero looked back at the diary, smiling darkly when he discovered the answer was all too easy.

_ACCESS ALLOWED_

What came next made Heero's eyes widen in amazement and his jaw drop to the floor.

XXX XXX XXX

"Nowhere?"

"Nowhere."

"Really?"

"I'm telling you, I couldn't find him anywhere right now. This place is huge in case you hadn't noticed and it'll probably take a whole search team to find a guy like Yuy."

Wufei had slowly revived in the hospital wing. He'd awoken with a groan and after a while he was still dizzy. While he fully recovered, Trowa entered the room with the news that he was unable to find Heero Yuy anywhere.

"Perhaps we should all go looking for him" suggested Quatre.

Duo lowered his gaze and pursed his lips. Noin didn't fail to see this gesture.

"Maybe that isn't such a good idea" she said, "after all, Lady Une wanted you guys together and if you split up to find Heero it will take longer to reunite you once more. Besides, not all of you are well" she nodded towards Wufei who was still laying on the bed, passing a hand before his eyes in an attempt of recovering his lost focus.

"She's right, we'll go and look for Heero, you guys wait here for Lady Une, she'll be here in no time" said Zechs already making his way towards the door. They both left and four of the former gundam pilots were left in there, pondering over their musings.

"Anyone care to explain what the hell is going on?"

It had been Wufei the one to speak. He was now sitting on his bed, apparently not entirely well as he leaning on his arms.

"Well, you passed out, Lady Une sent for us, and I found you in a room I'd never been at and brought you here. I assume we're all waiting for Lady Une now" answered Trowa.

As a reply for his very short speech, the door opened once more and in came the very woman they'd been talking about closely followed by doctor Sen.

"Well, I just met Noin and Zechs and they've told me Yuy isn't here yet. We don't have time to wait for him so we'll just fill him in on what we're about to say later" began Lady Une. The pilots nodded. They had expected Lady Une to say more, but she suddenly fell silent and an awkward pause filled the room. She eyed each and every one of the former pilots before her, swallowed hard, took a deep breath and a seat next to the door.

"I'm afraid that what we're about to tell you is a very serious matter" she continued, "and that it might be hard to assimilate, but nothing's lost yet…"

"Why don't you just go straight to the point Lady, all this foreword is making me nervous" said Duo.

Lady Une exchanged a quick glance with doctor Sen. "The lab tests are almost done…" said doctor Sen.

"Well that's good" interrupted once again Duo.

There was yet another shared glance. "The thing is… some of the information got mixed up…"

"And what's so serious about that. We can just go and do them again."

"Duo, stop interrupting. There is something serious about this," said Lady Une somewhat annoyed. They could all tell she was nervous. "What we're trying to say, without further ado, is that there is a sign of the virus in your tests, but since they got all mixed up we can't tell which one of you guys is the victim…"

Another very awkward silence filled the room. All the pilots were certain that the others had felt the same sensation of their stomachs dropping all the way down to their feet, a very dry mouth and a sudden lack of breath. Not even Duo could say anything this time, staring as he was at nothing on the wall. Quatre's face fell and he looked around at each of his friends. Trowa was almost as expressionless as usual, only now you could tell he was worried, and Wufei just stared disbelievingly at Lady Une.

"So… I really need to know if you guys have felt a headache… or anything unusual?" said doctor Sen breaking the silence.

"Why were you guys brought to the infirmary?" asked Lady Une.

"I… I wasn't feeling so well…" said Duo. "I passed out."

Just as doctor Sen was about to go wild with this piece of information, Wufei interrupted: "Me too."

"What were you doing before?" asked Sen.

"Well…" Duo sighed, not really wanting to tell what had happened between him and Heero, but more important matters were at hand and now was not the time for keeping secrets. "I had an argument with Heero… I got really upset and cried and wreaked mayhem in my room"

"You cried?"

"Yes…"

"And you were really upset?"

"Yes."

"Hmm… I suppose you were really stressed out and all"

"Yes…"

"Well that's a good reason to feel like shit… did your head hurt before or after your tantrum?"

"While I was at it…"

"I thought so… How about you Wufei?"

"I was working out. Practicing my sword moves"

"Did you feel a headache?"

"Yes"

"When?"

"When I was just about to pass out… I really overdid myself… I wasn't feeling right either because of… well some past experience. Don't worry, it was nothing physical, merely ideological, and I took it out on myself practicing till I fainted."

"Hmm… what about you guys?" asked doctor Sen to Quatre and Trowa.

"We…" despite the circumstances, Quatre couldn't help himself and blushed deep scarlet. "Well, we…"

"We were having sex" said Trowa plainly making Quatre's color turn into crimson.

"I see… Did you feel a headache, either of you?"

Both pilots shook their heads.

Sen began to think, frowning deep in concentration. "Well, I've come to a conclusion. It's quite useless, but maybe it will prove helpful in another occasion… We still have a pilot here missing, so there's still the chance that he might be the infected one, but we mustn't leave behind any possibilities.

"Duo was really stressed out, as he told us, and the headache he felt might've been provoked by that or not. Maybe it was just coincidence that he felt it while he was feeling emotionally broken, a matter of perfect timing. Same goes for Wufei. All his training could've caused the headache or not."

"What about Trowa and Quatre? They didn't feel anything" asked Lady Une.

"Well, they said they were having sex at the moment. You see, when you feel pain, such as a headache or whichever other, a certain hormone is sent to your brain to indicate there's something wrong. However, even when there's nothing wrong, these hormones might be sent to the brain on special occasions, and in larger amounts, but to indicate the opposite feeling and produce pleasure. (1)

"What I'm getting at is that while they were having sex, their hormones were too busy indicating pleasure for them to even feel the slightest trace of pain."

"So what you're saying in all is that…?"

"Until we find Heero and confirm he's had a headache for no apparent reason, any of the five could have the virus."

XXX XXX XXX

**A/N: **HA! I betcha more than one of you guys thought after reading the chapter's title that you'd get to know which pilot has the virus, didn't you? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm eeeevil and lovin' it. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

Lately I've become a great fan of evil cliffhangers, don't you think? But come on, give me some credit here, it's not taking me too long to update now, just please be patient and don't forget to submit your reviews once you're done reading.

PS: Akane-chan, remember that if you kill me then I won't be able to finish this fic ;)

(1) Somewhere in my mind I had it registered that something like this happens. I might've read it, might've heard it somewhere, or maybe I just made it up at some point in my subconscious to fit it nicely in the story. Don't take it too seriously as I'm not entirely sure it's right. If anyone would care to correct me then please do so, but I won't change it in the story, 'cause it would be too much trouble to change the whole thing.


	9. Time

**Time**

"So we have to find Heero…"

"That's right. If he confirms having a headache for no reason in particular, our search might as well have been narrowed down and all we have to do is make further testing on him, just to make sure, and then get him ready for cryogenic freezing."

"But what if he hasn't had one?"

"In that case… we could either go over the testing once again, or we could get all of you five guys ready for cryogenic freezing, which I don't really recommend."

The five young men before him nodded in consent. For the past months they had been the Preventers' main agents in the viral research outside the labs. If all of them were frozen like that, chance was that their work would be greatly delayed, not to mention all of the losses they might have amongst the general population if they weren't there to trace victims down and take them to the headquarters for proper treatment. All in all, their job was of great importance for the Preventers and they couldn't afford to have them all out until an effective cure was found.

"How much time do we have before… well, before the cryogenic freezing process becomes useless?" asked Trowa.

"Well, we had you guys do the tests at about eleven in the morning, if I'm not much mistaken, I've got the official times in my lab, I'll check them in a moment. During the whole process there was no evidence of a headache so I'm assuming it happened later, probably a few hours after you were done. I suppose none of you felt anything within the next few hours?"

All the pilots shook their heads.

"Well take three o'clock as a start, just to make sure. That gives us until around one in the morning before it becomes useless… and until three or four in the morning before the first convulsions begin."

General silence all around.

"So that gives us less than six hours to find the victim…" said Trowa.

"We need at least a couple of hours to redo the testing and another hour to get the freezing process ready… just three hours to find the one, after that, we'll be running short on time."

"Fuck!" Duo swore loudly.

From now on, this was going to be a race against time.

"I suggest we start looking for Heero" said Lady Une trying to keep the four guys away from their dark thoughts. "It's the least we can do, and having seven people looking for him instead of just two will make it easier."

They all nodded, still shocked by the news.

"Duo, Wufei, are you well enough to get up?"

"Sure."

"Yes."

"Then all of you follow me, I have a map of the headquarters at my office. We can decide what to do once we're there."

XXX XXX XXX

What appeared before Heero's eyes was definitely unexpected. As he saw and heard what was contained in it, rage, frustration, hatred and many other dark thoughts and emotions flashed through the Japanese young man. One last video, longer than the last two, began to play on Heero's screen.

_"Twenty eight day of the tenth month, year AC 198. Things have changed…_

_"From the start, it had all been planed to be the development of a new drug. The ones in the market were supposed to be nothing against this one. Costs of fabrication were to be decreased and the effect to be improved. It should have been just every dealer's dream, of making more and more money out of a very addictive drug._

_"The process began simple, quite similar to the pharmaceutical research the Preventers were already carrying out. That made it easy to find colleagues willing to cooperate, all oblivious of the real purpose. Doctor Sen proved to be most efficient, and I must admit that I wouldn't have gone this fast on the developing if it hadn't been for his help._

_"When the investigation slowed down, Sen began to make connections and would've discovered something if I hadn't sabotaged the outcome of his research and hidden the real information in this video. However, this made him suspicious and after that he questioned me a lot. I had to take him out of the team… _I had to leave the team. _That's when all the discussion happened, resulting in a deep mistrust between Sen and I._

_"Despite losing a very efficient partner, the investigation was nearing its final purpose and I couldn't afford to let them know what were we really developing. And even though I had to work alone from then on, the product somehow began a rapid increase in its maturation process and soon I had what I'd been looking for. Of course Sen returned at some point, but there was no real need for him anymore._

_"The new drug was ready for the market, and buyers weren't scarce. All that was left to do was to stabilize the process so it could be sold. The new drug had an effect almost ten times stronger than the most common ones in the market. After some testing in a few guinea pigs, it was confirmed to work only on the brain, afterwards leaving little to no trace of its existence in the rest of the body. Not only did the costs and the addiction were modified to suit the providers, it was also made to be undetectable if any physical test were to be made, quite unlike the ones already known._

_"But then, just as the process was about to stabilize, something went terribly wrong. I can't even start to explain what happened, but for a reason, the process reverted itself and the drug suffered many mutations. Perhaps its components weren't all that stable or compatible. The thing is, the drug began to break apart and everything changed. Even the guinea pigs used on the last tests seemed to have suffered mutations from the remains of the drug in their bodies._

_"It was a terrible loss, but I still can't explain what happened. After over a month of further research, I still can't stop the mutations nor the reversing effect. If it doesn't stop soon, I don't know what will the new outcome be…"_

Making a sick analogy, it was just like having a recorded class. While Sixto spoke about his findings, he showed various notes and graphs to prove his points. Heero watched all the formulas flash on his screen. It was all there, from the beginning of the investigation up to the part where the drug began to break down. Perhaps if Sixto hadn't been working all alone on it, he might have been able to do something about it, not that Heero favored whatever he had been doing, but he still couldn't leave the thought of doctor Sixto's mistake.

Just when Heero thought it was all done, another screen overlapped the last one. He was getting tired of these videos, but they were most enlightening, so he watched the last of these with rapt fascination.

XXX XXX XXX

"I suggest Quatre and Duo go over to the West wing in the HQ. Trowa and Wufei can take the North wing and I'll call Noin and Zechs to head to the East one. I'll send a message through the speakers around the headquarters and have everyone available look for Heero."

Lady Une handed each of the pilots an intercom to be able to communicate in case anyone found anything. She also gave them each a copy of the HQ map. Finally, she paced the ground in front of the four, looking sadly at their faces.

"Please, don't worry just yet. I have faith in our scientists and I'm sure they'll find a solution before it's too late. Dr. Sen has just returned to the labs and is working at top speed to arrange the information and see if he can beat time to it. With luck, we will not only find Heero, but we'll have the information in order by the time we do it, hopefully within the next three hours."

"Don't worry Lady Une," spoke up Quatre, "when we agreed to help you on this mission, we knew what we were facing, and we knew about the risk of getting infected. It came to us as a real surprise, but after careful consideration, I'm certain that we'll all agree that we don't blame it on anything nor anyone. Things happen the way they do and all we can do right now is accept the present events and work hard to change them for the future."

"Yes, I know that, but…"

"Let's not waste time now" interrupted Wufei. "If we're running against time, then we don't own it to be fooling around with useless philosophies. We better get a move on instead of sitting here and feeling sorry for what has happened and what will happen."

They all nodded firmly to Wufei's words and gave Lady Une one last reassuring glance before making their way out. After they all left, she felt her courage falter and had to take a seat behind her desk to avoid falling. Silent tears ran down her cheeks and for the first time in many years, she felt useless and frightened. Never had someone so close to her had the risk of dying, and maybe she wasn't that close to the five ex-pilots, but she still knew them from a long time.

Quickly drying her tears, she set out to do what she had to do. Through the various speakers located at the main rooms in the headquarters, her voice was heard by many of the workers still up and about.

"Attention Preventers. This is Lady Une. Special agent Heero Yuy is requested over at my office. I repeat, this is Lady Une and special agent Heero Yuy is requested over at my office. Please special agent Heero Yuy, come over to my office immediately. If someone has seen him, please let him know about this."

She repeated the message a couple of times more.

The pilots heard her voice as they parted their ways. If Heero showed up at her office then she would call them through the intercom she'd given to each of them. If he didn't, then it would all be up to them. With the map Lady Une had showed to them, they had confirmed the magnitude of the place. It sure was one hell of a big building and knowing Heero and his earlier discussion with Duo, he sure wouldn't want to be found anytime soon. That only meant harder work for all of them. But that also meant they could skip big places where a lot of people were sure to be, leaving less area to cover.

Just as a reminder, their timers had been set with a deadline of three hours, and currently, with their trip to Lady Une's office and all, they had two hours and forty something minutes to go. A race against time only made it harder, but they had to keep their wits about them if they didn't want to fail.

XXX XXX XXX

_"Second month of the year AC 199, day 10. After some months of waiting for a resolution, the drug seemed to have disappeared. The components are still in the lab samples, but it became inert._

_"Now, after all these months, I know what was the result. Both guinea pigs died in unexplainable conditions and several more people that had contact with the drug followed this pattern. Most of them didn't have direct contact with it, so the reason behind their deaths is still a mystery to me, but they all follow the same symptoms._

_"After this, more cases of the same death were reported. Everyone is at a loss in trying to explain where it comes from. As I said before, the drug was designed to become invisible. No matter how closely one checked at first, it would take many complicated tests to actually identify it in the body. Apparently it kept that quality._

_"During all this time it keeps spreading, something I can't justify, and something I can't stop. Now, the Preventers have gotten further involved in this. It was intended to be kept quiet at first, but now it's nearly impossible._

_"My once drug has now been renamed. It came to be known as "Colonies Disease" and all I can think of is _'what have I done?'"

The journal Heero had been holding dropped loudly to the floor. "Fuck" he muttered in a low whisper. Everything began then and there, but when and where would it stop?

XXX XXX XXX

**A/N: **Ooohh Myyy Goood! Heh, heh, I believe I have gotten a bit too exited with even my own fic --U

I really want to thank all of you who have reviewed so far, mind if I ask you guys something? I'm really curious about something see, I want to know, regardless of the pilot who's infected, if you would like to read about someone dying. Please let me know when you review. I'm not saying I'll change the story according to your answers, but I'm still curious. Ok?

See ya in next update!


	10. Nothing

HEY EVERYONE! …Anyone? Mmm… I do realize it's been quite a looong wait, but out of nowhere I woke up at 2 am and had the sudden desire to continue this fic. During these past months my life has changed completely and I have found it real hard to try and concentrate on all of my fics. Besides, last chapter only got3 reviews and that wasn't really encouraging. THANK YOU NIKKLER, PRISCEL AND MY DEAREST SISTER AKANE! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! Oh well, I'm finally back, I suppose I'll just stop this useless rant and get on with the chapter…

XXX XXX XXX

**Nothing**

What had truly caused Sixto's death? Had he really died victim of the virus, just as the Preventers liked to believe? Or had he, as Heero suspected, committed suicide? However, the how wasn't really important now. Sixto was gone and he was unable to help them. Heero was now in possession of his diary and it was rather clear what he had to do. He shut his laptop down and got up from his spot in the empty room. He had to give that journal to the scientists in charge of the viral research. The whole process of how the virus was created was there, and he was sure that it would aid on the finding of the cure. Without further thinking he made his way out and towards the labs.

All the way, a hundred thoughts assaulted him. This diary might just be the answer to all their problems; it might just as well be like handing out the cure to the scientists on a silver platter. To think that perhaps he was just a few steps away of delivering human race the salvation everyone longed for. It would only be a matter of time now before the antidote was produced in mass quantities. Many lives would be saved, and the virus might even be eradicated…

But… what if the diary proved to be useless, or what would be worse, confounding? Either thing was possible, but as of now, Heero preferred to look at it on the optimistic side. Hope was scarce nowadays and he had to maintain faith to make the rest feel better. Time ago, he would have thought it was just unavoidable. Years ago he would've taken it all with a cold, emotionless stride. Just as he had once thought before: he had grown attached to life… or rather, Duo had made him grow attached to it.

Duo…

Heero hadn't thought about him while looking at the diary's contents. Well, maybe not specifically thought about him, but one way or another, Duo was always in his mind. Heero wondered whether Duo had forgiven him by now; forgiven him for having walked out of the place, forgiven him for have left him alone when he most needed him… forgiven him for having lost his patience and despaired. The leather-covered book somehow made him feel stronger than he had when his argument with Duo was recently over. Any fears of ever losing Duo might as well disappear as soon as he delivered the diary. It would only be a matter of time… and he couldn't wait any longer.

At first he walked, then he sped up, and finally he was running. Who knows how long he might've been gone, how many hours he might've wasted. Emotion now overwhelmed him and he knew nothing about its source. He felt neither happiness nor fear, only anxiety. It kept him running, and it made him quicken his strides.

"Attention Preventers. This is Lady Une. Special agent Heero Yuy is requested over at my office. If someone has seen him, please let him know about this"

Heero stopped dead on his tracks. He distinctly heard Lady Une's voice through one of the large speakers in the hall he'd just passed. She wanted to see him at her office. Why? The earlier rush of emotion in Heero only made it easier for him to panic. His mind was such a mix of thoughts, feelings, everything at the moment, that fear didn't take long to overcome them. His chest felt tight and he desperately sought good reasons for Lady Une wanting to see him at her office.

Bingo! The test results were probably ready now, and she wanted to tell him personally that the computers were now running smoothly, and that the whole HQ was well on its way to get rid of quarantine, and that Duo was waiting for him to hug him in happiness, and that he had to keep running towards the labs, and that it was all just a lie, the Disease had claimed Duo's life…

Heero felt dizzy from all this brainstorming. Lady Une's unexpected call along with his outburst triggered something in him, slowly making him lose control. There were plenty of reasons for him to be scared, afraid, exited, even giddy, and everything was clouding his mind and keeping him from thinking straight.

"Hey!" someone yelled behind him, startling him further. "You're Preventer Heero Yuy, aren't you?"

It was a man, old enough to be his grandfather. Somehow, his voice seemed to set an order in Heero's mind.

"Yes" he answered calmly, although his voice was unexpectedly hoarse.

"I just heard Lady Une's looking for you. You oughta go to her office, might be important"

"I will, thank you"

All he needed was something to bring him back to reality. He calmed himself and breathed deeply. The man's voice had been like a string, jerking him back to present time. Now was not the time to panic, he had better things to do.

Heero nodded to the man and set off at a run again. He knew he had to go and see Lady Une, but first he was allowing himself a quick detour. Once the diary was safely under the researchers' custody, he'd grace Lady Une with his presence, not before. He felt he owed his friends at least some good news to make up for his absence… maybe even after that Duo would forgive him.

XXX XXX XXX

"DUO!"

"What?"

"They've found him, he's at the labs!"

Duo stopped so abruptly, Quatre ran straight into him, almost knocking both down to the ground.

"What is it?"

"Lady Une said Heero had been found. Come on, he's at the labs."

Trowa and Wufei were already there. Noin and Zechs apparently wouldn't be showing up. The door was closed and all they had to do was turn the knob. Heero would most surely be right behind it. No time to lose, a whole hour and a half had escaped them. Duo became aware that he'd been holding his breath and gasped for air. It was Trowa in the end the one who reached out and opened the door.

"Here you are" instead of Heero, it was Dr. Sen the first to greet them. "Heero's already downstairs. We've just explained to him the present situation and he's getting prepped for examination. Please come with me and we'll ready you guys as well."

The four boys said nothing. Duo was lightly trembling, and only Quatre could notice, as he was standing right next to him, slightly making contact. He placed a hand on Duo's shoulder and gave him a reassuring look. Duo nodded and they all left.

There was no chance of seeing Heero yet. The other four were parted into different rooms were a whole medical team was waiting. Time had been defeated, and maybe they couldn't cheer yet, but soon they'd smile, knowing there was still chance to save one of them. Duo longed for nothing more than to embrace Heero and ask for forgiveness. He should have never allowed that to happen. He wouldn't allow himself to be defeated by this Disease. He would no longer permit it to distance him from his friends and his lover. Duo had been foolish, but now it was enough. No matter what the outcome of this whole testing be, he promised himself to make the others know he was there. He felt like crying, but now was not the time to be weak; now was the time to show strength, to show that mother fucking Disease what Duo Maxwell was made of.

XXX XXX XXX

The door opened and he saw the braided baka run towards him. Unconsciously his arms spread wide open, ready to receive his lover, all past problems forgotten. Nothing else existed, only them. There was nothing outside, nothing in. Nothing but the burning love they both felt.

Heero closed his eyes and inhaled deeply Duo's scent. All worries that might have been piling up in his brain dissipated in an instant, and his heart felt lighter than it had in days. He didn't care about the rest staring, he knew they'd understand. All he cared about right now was the being held between his arms.

"I'm so sorry Heero" whispered Duo.

"No Duo, I'm the one who's sorry"

The looked at each other and smiled. Nothing had happened. Nothing would ever break them apart.

"Hey guys, I have… _news_ for you" said Heero turning towards the other pilots, his hand held Duo's tightly.

"What kind of news?" asked Duo.

Heero sighed and led Duo towards the chairs near the others. Only the five of them were in that waiting room. It was set next to the sickbay, right above the labs. Only a corridor away from the cryogenic freezing chamber.

"I found Dr. Sixto's diary in his room… it was him, he created the virus."

Heavy silence befell them. Not a single sound came from that room, not even the sound of breathing.

"That mother fucker…" swore Duo in a harsh whisper.

"That's not all" continued Heero now that the silence was broken. "As I read it, I found many data related to it, and to how it was created. His diary describes in full detail the process he followed. It also said he'd been working by himself."

"Why did he create such a thing in the first place?" asked Wufei in a stiff voice.

"It was originally intended to be a drug. He was secretly selling them in the black market and apparently he was asked to do a better, more powerful one. Like I told you, he worked alone on this drug, and I'm sure the work was too much. He must've made a dozen mistakes along the way and his project mutated, resulting in what we are now fighting against."

Duo swore once more.

"Did it say anything else? Like how's it transmitted?" asked Quatre.

"No. Dr. Sixto himself had no idea what the Disease was. Only when people started dying all around did he realize what he'd done. And my guess is that he couldn't stand the pressure of knowing it had all been his fault. He was such an idiot, and a weak man. He opted for suicide instead of trying to be useful. I just gave the diary to the scientists at the labs. I'm sure they'll put it to good use."

So far, no one had mentioned anything about the risk of one of them having the Disease. All of them still held hope that it had all been some sort of misunderstanding. The computer had been malfunctioning, how could it bee so sure one of the ex gundam pilots had the Disease? Now, with this news about Heero's findings, hope shone brighter.

Heero smiled when he thought he had finally accomplished his mission. Ever since the beginning he'd been sent out to find the origin of this virus. He had finally come across it. Maybe everything did happen for a reason. If he hadn't fought with Duo, he might've never encountered the diary and more time would be wasted away trying to discover some answers. If destiny had been so kind to him then, maybe there really was hope. Maybe everything would really turn out all right in the end.

Heero squeezed Duo's hand softly and his braided lover turned to look at him. He saw Heero smiling and he couldn't help but do the same.

"Why so happy Hee-chan?"

"Don't call me that Duo."

They looked at each other seriously for an instant then unexpectedly burst out laughing. The rest stared at them, startled at first, wondering if madness was another unaccounted symptom. In the end Quatre joined their laughter, Trowa graced them with a smile and Wufei was confused beyond speech.

"It's been a while since I last heard anyone laugh around here"

Through the door came Lady Une and they all turned to look at her, four of them still with big smiles. She smiled as well, but she was too tired to actually look happy. She was relieved to see all of them still there, laughing together, like they had nothing to care about in the whole universe.

"It's good to see you still haven't lost your good mood despite the circumstances"

"Life's too short to be wasted away in tears, ma'am" answered Duo putting an arm around Heero's neck and pressing his face to his own.

"Quite true."

"So, any news for us?" asked Wufei bothered that he hadn't caught on the joke.

"Well, Heero certainly made the researchers' day when he gave them that diary. They've just been trough some of it's content and they're positive something good's going to come out of it. Sen seems to have particular interest on it and he understands a great deal more than the rest. I have placed my whole faith on them."

"Any chance I may speak to him?" asked Heero.

"Well, he's upstairs, I'm sure he won't have any inconvenient if you go and see him now."

"Lady… why haven't we been isolated or something?" asked Trowa suddenly.

"What?"

"If there's a possibility that one of us carries the Disease then why do you still come to us with no protection, or why haven't we been locked up somewhere"

Lady Une stared at Trowa for a while, then turned to look at the rest. She chuckled, confusing them all.

"I've been in contact with you for the past hours. If the Disease wants me, then she ought to get me soon… I have faith in you guys, and maybe it's a lame excuse, but I want to be by your side no matter what. If you are in danger, then I will willingly set myself next to you, and suffer the same. Never forget that I was once a soldier as well."

"But…"

"I know, you could have infected half the HQ while looking for Heero, but somehow I have a feeling it doesn't work that way…"

"We can't take any chances"

"By the time we knew about it you already had had the chance to infect dozens of people"

"We could've spared more"

Lady Une sighed. "Yes, I guess that might be true. However, I just can't bring myself to believe one of you is sick. I suppose it was due to my own hope that you are still out here with me and not locked up inside some ugly room"

Trowa imitated the woman before him and sighed. There was no point in arguing further.

"So, about seeing Dr. Sen… follow me"

The five pilots rose to follow Lady Une. Her words had offered comfort and widened the ray of hope they had. She opened the door and was ready to lead Heero towards Dr. Sen.

Heero had much to tell Dr. Sen. He was sure he held the key to the cure, as he was the closest to the project when Sixto was still alive. Sixto might have led him astray, but Sen understood the way things worked; he was Sixto's most valuable companion before things got nasty. Heero firmly believed Sen could right Sixto's wrongs and become a hero. He had to talk to him…

Lady Une was right in front of him…

Duo was behind…

Next came the rest of his friends…

He was just a few steps away from Lady Une… and then he lost focus.

"HEERO!"

The last thing he heard was Duo's panicked yell and then he fell to the ground.

"HEEEEROOOO!"

XXX XXX XXX

**A/N:** Before I wrote this chapter, I had to re-read the whole story, just to make sure I wasn't making any mistakes. I'd abandoned my dear fic for way too long. As I was reading I discovered plenty of mistakes in the past chapters, but none are too important, don't worry, nothing life threatening, I'm just too lazy to double-check the chapter once it's finished before uploading it.

I can't get enough of thanking Nikkler, Priscel and Aka-chan, THANK YOU! You guys are the only ones who've submitted reviews for each chapter and you make me happy. By the way, did you like the way this chapter ended? My guess is you can get plenty of conclusions from this…


	11. The Truth

**The Truth**

"HOLD HIS ARMS! BE CAREFUL WITH HIS LEGS!"

"WHERE DO WE PUT HIM!"

"FOLLOW ME!"

It took five men to hold him and take him away. Duo wanted to help, he had to do something, but his body wouldn't listen, and his legs hadn't moved. He couldn't even prevent him from falling…

"Duo!"

"Wha-?"

"Come on"

He was laid inside a cold chamber, tightly strapped to a lab workbench. It strongly reminded him of the first time he'd ever set eyes on him. There had laid Heero Yuy, the perfect soldier, captured by the enemy. He could perfectly regulate his body's activity to feign unconsciousness. But now…

Now brought tears to Duo's eyes. His brain had taken a while to process what had just happened. Seeing Heero lying there made his mind go fast forward. He was now at the doorframe, looking as Wufei finished strapping Heero's left arm. A deafening scream escaped the perfect soldier's mouth.

"DUO!"

Quatre was the first one to notice his friend was there. The rest turned in time to see him run towards his lover.

"Heero!" he called out to the boy.

Heero's eyes were rolling uncontrollably, his front was streaked with sweat drops and he was gasping for air. Another yell left his mouth, full of pain.

"Can't you do something!" Duo yelled at Sen. "Give him something to stop the pain!" His last words were almost drowned by a third scream.

"I can't give him anything. Every single medicine we've got has so far proved to be useless at this stage" answered Dr. Sen. "We should go outside"

Sen and his other companion that had helped them carry Heero began to exit the room. None of the pilots moved, however. Duo was now desperately crying, feeling ever so helpless as Heero began to squirm about the table, foam coming out of his mouth. His back arched off the table and dropped back with tremendous force. Duo threw himself over Heero to prevent him from harming himself again in such manner.

"Heero, please stop. Listen to me, I'm right here!" yelled Duo knowing beforehand that nothing he said would help.

Heero's limbs were stiff and he was crying, screaming atop of his lungs, his eyes sliding out of focus. Suddenly he tried freeing himself of his straps and his right wrist began to bleed. The rest of the pilots rushed to his aid, trying with all their might to hold Heero down. Heero's nails were digging into his palms and soon not only were his wrists bleeding, but his hands as well. Duo forced Heero to open his left palm and held his hand, entwining their fingers.

"Please Heero…" moaned Duo, his tears falling on Heero's chest. Heero was out of reach. His hand clutched tightly in Duo's raised the pressure on it, until he made even Duo bleed.

"Duo!"

"NO! I DON'T CARE, I DON'T WANT HIM TO GET HURT!"

Dr. Sen came back with Lady Une. They both stared trough the thick glass walls at the pilots' attempts to help their friend.

"Please Lady Une, ask them to leave. We still don't know how the Disease is transmitted and if we can prevent further damage, then we must…"

"Nothing I say will make them leave Heero's side" answered back Lady Une calmly. "I'm sure they are fully aware of the danger, but they don't give a damn."

"But they can't go on like that for a whole hour!"

"Never underestimate them Dr. Sen!" exclaimed Lady Une rather harshly. "They're not just soldiers, they're friends, and their past has brought them together forming a tighter bond many could only dream of"

XXX XXX XXX

After a whole hour of pain and suffering, Heero had finally fallen asleep. The other pilots were sweaty and tired. Heero was really strong and it had taken nearly all their strength to hold him down. Some chairs were brought to them and Quatre collapsed on one leaning on Trowa's side. He was standing, leaning against the wall, and Wufei was sitting on the other side of the room, intently looking at Duo.

Duo was beyond tears now. His face had never been so lifeless. He had asked for a wet towel and once he got it he began to wipe the sweat and blood off Heero. Just as Lady Une had predicted, the four of them had remained next to Heero, never once hesitating to help.

Lady Une came back once more to inform them Heero's room was ready. They all knew from past experience that he would not wake up in at least four hours, so Duo had asked for a room where Heero could rest on a bed. Ignoring the rest of his friends, he took Heero in his arms, lovingly carrying him, like he were holding a baby, and let Lady Une lead him. The room was plain and strongly reminded them of a hospital room. There was a large window next to the bed and several chairs for the visitors to sit in.

Duo carefully laid Heero on the bed and proceeded to fix the sheets to cover his lover's slim body. Quatre's hand surprised Duo when the Arabian pilot began to extend the covers as well. Their eyes met for a brief second, Quatre flashed Duo with a sad, sympathetic smile and finally finished with his side of the bed. Duo pursed his lips when he looked down at Heero's slumbering face.

So many times before had he looked upon this calm face. Duo used to wake up before Heero just to see him sleep, never letting his lover know about it… never letting him know how much he loved to be next to him…

Duo now realized he had taken everything for granted. He knew he loved Heero, and he knew he was corresponded, but only now he discovered that wasn't enough. He should have told Heero every single moment how happy he made him, the way he felt so alive whenever they were together. He shouldn't have let a single second go by without letting Heero know how lost would he be without him.

And now… well, now might be too late.

_'No. I refuse to let him go'_

Duo held Heero's hand firmly and fought hard against the tears that once again threatened to return. A dry sob escaped his lips.

"Maybe you should rest for a while" spoke Quatre timidly approaching Duo. "Heero will be asleep for a while now, and you must be exhausted"

"I'm fine" muttered Duo in a cutting way. Quatre looked around towards Trowa, hoping he would find some support to convince Duo, but the silent pilot shook his head, signaling for Quatre to leave him alone. Quatre sighed in defeat and merely conformed with placing a hand on Duo's shoulder and squeezing lightly in a comforting way.

"We're all here" he whispered.

"I know" answered Duo in a faint, broken voice. He was about to cry again.

XXX XXX XXX

"Lady Une!"

"Yes?"

"Dr. Sen wishes to talk to you."

"I'll be there in a moment"

"No need for that Lady"

At the door was Dr. Sen. His assistant left the room surprised, clearly not expecting him to be right behind her. She had been asked to summon Lady Une, but in the end, it turned out that doctor Sen had gone there personally.

"What is it doctor?"

"I believe I have some good new for you…"

Lady Une remained silent.

"The diary Heero Yuy brought us has proved to be most enlightening. We have been able to insert new data in the main computer and its operations are running smoothly so far. The recent information has led us to be able to fix most of the network and I believe that in a day we may as well be on our way to get rid on quarantine for good"

"Those are good news indeed" said Lady Une, not really showing any emotion.

"Is… something wrong?"

"Heero hasn't woken up"

"I know… we are trying our best Lady…"

"But he's beyond any help, isn't he? He's way past the tenth hour now, cryogenic freezing is no good anymore"

Silence.

And then…

"Hope should die last."

XXX XXX XXX

"Duo…"

The braided man rose his head from the sheets. Unconsciously he had given in to tiredness. For just a moment he had decided to rest his eyes, which were red and puffy from crying. He laid his head next to Heero, his hand never leaving his lover's, and then, sleep had overwhelmed him until he was lost in dark dreams.

Four whole hours had gone by. Now Heero was awake.

"Heero" whispered Duo, hoping it had all just been a dream. For a brief second, he felt like it had all been unreal, that nothing had ever happened and that he was safely sleeping next to Heero just like every other morning.

"What happened Duo?" asked Heero slowly rising from the bed.

Duo jerked up and his wishes were thrown out the large window next to him. He was in the hospital-looking room, and behind were the others, waiting for Heero to wake up.

"Don't you remember anything?" asked Wufei from his chair next to the door.

"Remember…?"

Heero couldn't, and he didn't understand why was he in there, or why were the other pilots looking so glum. He was shocked to see that Duo had been crying.

"What happened?" he asked, looking around, feeling his chest very heavy with dread.

Duo looked at him sadly. How was he going to explain Heero what had just happened? How was he going to let him know such terrible truth?

XXX XXX XXX

**A/N:** Hello everybody! I'm happy to report so soon, sooner even than what I had expected. I'm a university girl now! Well… no, I'm not really that happy, but writing makes me happy, so I'm in a good mood anyways. Besides, I read a review that really encouraged me to keep on writing this story, thanks a bunch Lost-Remembrance! Thanks to all of you guys who reviewed for last chapter, I don't believe this story has had this much reviews for a chapter before. That's why, in thanks, I'm updating sooner that before. I hope you like it!


	12. Nine Hours

Nine Hours 

"I…"

Heero looked around bewildered. Neither one of the pilots were saying anything. They actually seemed quite frightened of doing so and were rather expectant of Duo.

"I remember now!" said Heero surprising them all, "I needed to talk to Dr. Sen, it's about the diary I found in Sixto's room" Heero made an attempt of standing up only to be rushed back into bed by his lover. Duo held on tightly to Heero's waist and dug his head on his stomach.

"Don't get up Heero!"

"We'll bring Dr. Sen here, you don't have to go anywhere" said Quatre ushering Trowa and Wufei outside the room. Duo remained next to Heero.

Heero stared down at his lover's head. Duo had no desire of turning up to see him; he knew that if he did, only tears would come back. Heero gently stroke Duo's hair and was surprised to see bandages around his wrist… both his wrists.

"Duo… what happened to me?"

Duo didn't answer for a while.

"I'm sorry Heero…"

"What?"

Why was Duo apologizing now? Heero thought they'd settled things already, why was Duo saying this?

"I'm so sorry for pushing you away… for pretending I didn't need you… for yelling at you… for…" Duo's voice broke away. He swallowed hard, "I'm deeply sorry. I don't know what else to say… please forgive me"

Heero stared at his boyfriend's head and tried to lift Duo's face to meet his eyes. The boy was firmly glued to his waist and wouldn't look up.

"Duo…" Heero tried once more to lift his face to no avail.

"I'M SORRY HEERO! I'M SORRY FOR BEING A PRICK, FOR NEVER LETTING YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU… for never letting you know how much I need you, for never showing how much I care for you…"

"Duo…"

Duo was blinking furiously and biting his lips to prevent him from crying again. If there was a god in heaven, or wherever, he'd be witness of Duo's eternal love and devotion to the man he was currently hugging.

"I'm the one who should be forgiven…" whispered Heero. "I… if anything of what you just said was true, then I'm guilty as charge of the same mistakes. I don't always understand what's happening with you, but I try hard to learn, to be a better man for you Duo… I just don't know if I really deserve you, and that frightens me the most. All I want is for your happiness, and I feel that at times I don't really contribute in it…"

Someone knocked at the door. Duo let go of Heero but didn't allow him to see his face. "Come in!" he yelled, standing up and reaching for the door to let Dr. Sen in.

"I hear Heero wanted to talk to me"

Heero saw Duo stand with fear and sadness in his eyes. He had no clue of what was happening right now, but all he truly cared for at the moment was to mend things with Duo. Dr. Sen approached him snapping his mind back to reality.

"Yes…" he stammered forgetting for a moment the initial purpose of having Dr. Sen come and see him, "yes, I wanted to talk to you about the diary I found" he said now firmly making full connection with the present.

The next few minutes, Heero stood in deep conversation with Dr. Sen. The rest of the pilots along with Lady Une, Noin, and Zechs arrived back at the room and sat in the background, intently hearing the latest news they had missed due to obvious reasons. Heero asked to be brought his laptop and he exposed to Dr. Sen that which his team had so far skipped: the videos Heero had found thanks to the mysterious notations Sixto had made.

Sen was delighted to see such videos. He watched with rapt fascination, especially the last one. "So that's why… I see…" he rubbed his chin, deep in thought, and kept on watching, barely even blinking. Once it was over, Heero had nothing else to say. "May I borrow your computer Heero?"

"Certainly"

"I'll have it immediately taken over to the labs for further examination of the data presented here… this is truly a wonderful breakthrough… amazing, simply amazing" Sen carried the laptop in his hands carefully, like holding a newborn, still zoned out, immersed in his own thoughts about the recent happenings. He left the room and the pilots were left behind with Lady Une, Noin and Zechs. New hope shone not too far off, but they still were unsure of how to take it. Heero's condition didn't allow for celebrations to start early.

Which brings us back to Heero.

"Now, would anyone care to explain why am I here?" asked Heero breaking the silence.

Once again, the dreaded question was out in the open. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei turned to look at each other uneasily and then at Duo, who had had his head down for the whole time. Noin and Zechs turned instead towards Lady Une.

"After we found you and you told us about the diary, you guys were prepped for medical examination," she said, "tests were carried out and once they were done, you asked to speak with Sen"

"I know, I remember that much" Heero cut in, "but what about these bandages? What happened afterwards? I don't recall how I got in here. I don't know why am I here or even where here is."

Lady Une took a deep breath. "As we were on our way, you collapsed… you began to have a fit so they took you down to the sickbay and had you strapped to prevent worse damage"

Heero stared wide-eyed at her. The information wasn't sinking in right and he turned to look at the rest of his friends, which in turn, evaded his look.

"You were out for about four hours until now. That's all that's happened."

It might have seemed cold, but they all knew that if Lady Une hadn't said it like that, sentimentalism would have gotten in the way and Heero would have never found out what was happening. Heero leaned back on his pillows and stared at nothing, his eyes blank.

"Everyone please leave" Heero said. Lady Une ushered them all outside, gently taking Duo's hand to lead him out. The boy seemed to have become lifeless and nothing more than a dummy. Heero now knew.

XXX XXX XXX

"Lady Une, may I please have a word with you?" Heero poked his head out of his room and found just the person he'd wanted to talk to. Lady Une was leaning on the wall just outside his door, her arms crossed.

"Sure" she said, and joined Heero inside.

The rest of the pilots had taken Duo upstairs. He was a walking wreck. Duo longed for nothing more than to be next to Heero at the moment, but after Lady Une told him what had happened, he had asked everyone to get out, including Duo. They all knew how hard it was to take in such news and they could only guess how Heero was feeling at the moment.

As for Duo, he was in a pitiful state. Quatre had suggested they go up for some fresh air and maybe something to eat. None felt hungry at the moment, but they still complied with the blond's suggestion. There was nothing they could do at the moment anyways, so whatever was fine. They reached the entrance to the sickbay and outside they walked for a moment until they spotted a vending machine. Most were empty nowadays since the quarantine, but this one still had some beverages left in it.

"Anyone fancy some tea?" asked Quatre looking at the poor contents inside the machine.

No one answered, but Quatre still inserted some coins he found in his trousers and selected one of the drinks. He offered it to Duo. "You haven't had anything to eat in a while and you must be very tired"

Duo stared at the can offered to him and took it automatically. He held it in his hands and turned it without really intending to drink its content. Quatre wanted to say something to him, to comfort him in some way, but he just didn't know what the right words were at the moment. He tried to reach out and at least pat Duo on the back, but his hand never made contact with the braided boy. Trowa had pulled him back.

Quatre stared at Trowa with glassy, tear-filled eyes, but Trowa merely shook his head. Duo had to be left alone right now, there was simply nothing they could say to him. Quatre squeezed Trowa's hand tightly and bit his lips to prevent any drama from gushing out.

"Duo?"

They all heard Lady Une calling from the opposite end of the corridor they were standing at. She spotted them and rushed over to where Duo was still playing with the can of tea.

"Duo, Heero wants to talk to you."

Duo raised his eyes towards his employer and rushed back into Heero's room without waiting for further instructions. Lady Une watched as he left and then addressed the rest of the pilots.

"Stay close by, I'll be right back and I'll be needing your assistance"

XXX XXX XXX

"Come in" Heero called out after he heard someone knocking outside his door. Duo timidly poked his head inside and Heero motioned him to come forward. Duo entered and shut the door behind him. Heero walked over to where his lover was standing and hugged him tightly. "I love you Duo" he whispered. Duo broke down crying into his lover's arms. "Please don't cry Duo" Heero lifted Duo's chin and wiped his tears with his thumbs.

"Duo, please don't cry. It's alright, I'm not afraid"

Duo stared intently at his lover's beautiful Cobalt eyes. Heero was smiling. He wasn't happy, but he was still smiling, trying to comfort Duo.

"I'm actually glad this happened to me instead of you"

"How can you say that?" whispered Duo barely audible.

"That's how I feel"

Duo kept staring at Heero, carefully studying each and every single feature of his boyfriend's face. He approached Heero, intent on kissing him. Heero pulled away at this.

"I don't… I know it might be too late now, but I don't want to infect you in case I haven't yet…"

Duo hugged Heero round the waist and pressed his forehead against his. "Even if it kills me, just kiss me"

Their lips met once again in a kiss. It was the best kiss they'd ever shared. Never before had they had such a passionate kiss that was yet so pure and true. Both knew they could be sharing the last kiss of their lives and wanted to make out the most of it. Duo held on tightly to Heero and in turn, Heero surrounded Duo with his arms and pressed him to his body.

They felt like they wanted to be even closer, despite the fact that there was barely any space between them. Like wanting to fuse with the other, breaking the barrier between each entity. Duo had thought they'd accomplished that the first time they ever had sex. He had felt like they'd become one at the moment, but he had never realized how far they were from reaching unity. He felt terribly anxious knowing he could not break the barrier between them…

Heero finally broke the kiss apart.

"Duo… will you marry me?"

Duo's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"I… I know I don't have much time left, but if I really have to go, then I want to make the most out of what's left of these last nine hours I have. I already asked Lady Une if she could find some sort of minister who'd be willing to marry us, but that is only if you want…"

"OF COURSE!"

Heero smiled, this time truly happy. "Of course I'll marry you Heero"

"Eh… I don't have the ring…"

"I don't need a ring. All I want is to be yours"

XXX XXX XXX

**A/N: **Hi! I'm still alive and kickin'! I'm so very sorry it took me forever to update this. If I'm not mistaken, it must have taken me the better part of a year, but please, be indulgent with me, university takes more out of you than it would appear at first… they should offer warning booklets or something: WARNING! University drains you of not just energy, but also of time, social life, inspiration and muses.

So, I'm drained of mushyness. I don't think I'd ever written something as romantic and corny as what I wrote in the end. Having a boyfriend certainly helps, but I don't think I'll be saying anything sweet to him for the next couple of years…

Anyways, I'm proud to announce that this is the chapter before the last. I'm done writing this fic and have only one more chapter to post after this. Don't worry, I promise I'll have it up before the week is over. Thank you all for your patience and once more, I apologize for having you waiting.


	13. In Sickness and in Health

**Before you start reading: **I would really like to thank Nikkler, Priscel and Akane Li for sticking with me till the end. You guys have submitted most of the reviews I got and now I want to dedicate this last chapter to you guys. And in thanks, if any of you guys would like me to write a fic about something in particular, let me know so I can get to work right away on it. I hope you like this ending.

XXX XXX XXX

In Sickness and in Health 

Lady Une arrived with the minister and the rest of the pilots. Heero was surprised to see that the minister was the old man he'd met some time ago while on his way to see the scientists about the recently discovered diary. The old man smiled at them and signaled he was ready to start whenever they pleased.

At first, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei were confused. All they knew was that Lady Une had asked them not to move because she would need their assistance later on. They felt slightly panicked and waited anxiously for her return. When they saw her arrive with an old man, confusion increased.

The old man signaled for Heero and Duo to approach him. Lady Une remained in the background with the rest of the pilots, and they secretly had the feeling she could start crying at any second.

"My dear friends" began the old man, "we are gathered here rather hastily due to the circumstances, to witness the joyful union of two people who have decided to proclaim their love for each other in an eternal oath of belonging"

Duo could barely believe this was happening to him. He held Heero's hands in his with a wide smile spread across his face. Lady Une had almost immediately arrived with his three closest friends to serve as witnesses and a nice looking man who said he'd be willing to marry them. He would feel guilty about forgetting everything else, but his happiness was simply overwhelming. At the moment, he felt like nothing else could go wrong, and hope shone it's brightest. Duo was almost sure everything would turn all right in the end. Besides, he was certain Heero wouldn't be pleased if he was worried at the moment.

"Now Heero, please repeat after me…"

Heero listened intently at what the old man said and memorized every single word. "I, Heero Yuy, take thee, Duo Maxwell, to be my lawfully wedded husband…"

Heero's words meant music to Duo's ears. Solemnity replaced happiness and for a moment Duo was pulled back to real life. Ever so passionate, he tended to get carried away in the spur of the moment, but now that he thought of it, he wondered what would happen next, right after the improvised ceremony was over.

Ever since they had met each other, Duo had had the feeling Heero would become something more than a known stranger in his life. As fate would have it, right after the last battle they'd not just become a couple, they were meant for each other, just like all those ancient and legendary tales of romance and overwhelming love.

Destiny had brought them together, and destiny in the end had kept them together. It would always be like that, and Duo made a secret promise to keep it that way, no matter what happened afterwards.

Now, Duo's turn came to speak out loud his eternal vows to Heero. Just as Heero, Duo took him to be his husband.

"…both in sickness and in health, until death do part us(1)" concluded Duo, for the first time comprehending the true meaning behind those words. Nothing seemed real at the moment; everything was distant. How long would it take before the last statement he had just spoken would become true?

"You may now kiss"

Heero and Duo joined in a kiss before their friends and it was over: they were married.

XXX XXX XXX

They had decided to leave the newlyweds alone. Lady Une rushed from her momentarily break back to the labs to speak to Dr. Sen. She seemed somewhat in a hurry to get out and Wufei suspected she hadn't wanted anyone to see her cry. Trowa and Quatre disappeared off to some unknown place and the old man stood before the vending machine seriously looking at its contents mystifying Wufei, who knew there really wasn't much to choose from.

As of late, Wufei's feet seemed to carrying him ever so often to strange and unusual places. This time, though, Wufei was also to blame, for he really had in mind the place he wanted to be at.

There was no one available he could talk to and let all his emotions flow free for a change. At least not his friends, whom all seemed so busy with their lives lately. Wufei wondered how was Heero going to fare, but as soldiers they all once were, Wufei was more than certain that the stoic, Zero pilot had accepted his fate and would never once turn back to mourn over the what ifs or the would haves.

"Rather narrow selection, isn't it?" spoke the old man out loud. Wufei wasn't really sure he was being talked to. "Although, it would seem that my choice has been just made easier this way… still, there are some who despite the circumstances won't accept the facts and always manage to find a way to get away with theirs"

Wufei had no idea of what the old man was talking about. In the end, he parted from the vending machine and approached Wufei while he pulled a cigarette packet out of his coat's pocket. Taking one with his hand he offered Wufei a smoke, which he declined.

"I guess you're right, it's best to stay clean. But to an old man like me, who's done and seen all this body could, I say a nice smoke can't do no harm… eh… you wouldn't happen to have a lighter on you boy?"

"No, I'm sorry"

"Shoulda guessed…" the man patted his pockets and finally found matches. He puffed a couple of smoke clouds before referring to Wufei again. "Something trouble your mind boy?"

"Doesn't everyone feel troubled nowadays?"

"Too true. But then again, it would seem that light still shines even at the darkest places… your friends are living proof of it". The old man sighed, "whatever it is, nothing should be strong enough to defeat your spirit boy. I hear tell that your friend is infected and has few hours left of life. Nevertheless, he has taken what I think is the right course of action and has decided to make the most out of the last. We should all follow his example and believe once more that it's never too late, dontcha think?"

Wufei eyed the man who was pleasantly puffing out more grey clouds. If the man was right, then maybe it really wasn't too late…

"Where are you goin'?"

"I have to introduce myself to someone. Good bye old man!" Wufei waved goodbye and hurried over to the frozen chambers, where the few cryogenically frozen people awaited. The girl he'd seen some time ago was certainly still there.

"Hi…" began Wufei, checking if there was anyone around to witness how ridiculous he felt at first. The absence of unfrozen people gave him more confidence. "My name is Wufei and I just met an old man who told me it's never too late. I suppose he's right, because I'm here talking to you. I don't know you and you don't know me, but there's a good chance that we might like each other once you wake up.

"You know, my best friends are paired up in couples and they seem to really love each other… actually they do, since two of them just got married, and I'm sure the other too will do the same soon. I suppose I felt envious at first, believing I had no one who cared that deeply for me, no one who I could share my heart with.

"I have been taught that envy isn't good. So, I discovered it's not envy I should feel; instead, I should be out, walking with my eyes wide open, in case someone out there would be willing to help me…to lend me a hand…And then I thought that maybe, there was someone out there who needed helping as well. I don't know why it occurred to me that you might, but in any case, I wanted to ask you if, when you wake up, you'd like to be my friend… would you save me?"

XXX XXX XXX

"Do you think Duo will be all right?"

"No, I don't think Duo will ever be all right again"

"…"

Trowa opened the door for Quatre into the large corridor that led to the dormitories. The little blond pilot looked back one last time with sadness. Heero had once before asked Quatre to go with him and do some shopping. He knew it was about Duo's ring, but that had been a long time ago. The disease thing had happened and they had been cut short of time. The ring search had to be postponed.

Quatre sighed and stepped into the corridor, Trowa closely behind. "It's so sad, though"

"Yes…"

They kept walking without any real destination for some minutes. They just held hands and walked, looking at the other people waking up and coming out of their rooms to begin work. Rumors about some good news issuing out of the labs were quickly spreading and the pilots could see people bustling about with higher spirits now.

Quatre yawned loudly. They'd had a lousy night's sleep and they really needed to get some rest, so their destination became the nearest room available, that being Trowa's. They shut the drapes to be immersed in complete darkness and settled on the bed. Problem was, as soon as they were nice and cozy, neither could get to sleep.

"I wish there was something we could do for them" spoke Quatre, sensing Trowa awake as well.

"Don't we all?"

"I know…I always thought we'd all be together, you know? I mean, I know we're all soldiers and we could die in any minute, but after all we've been through I just didn't think it would end like that"

Trowa turned to face Quatre. "We were all aware of the dangers this life posed."

"I know, it's just… I hoped that we had luck by our side. We didn't die during any of those past occasions where we could have, like at the battle with Mariemeia for example, so I thought that maybe, just maybe, we were meant to go on…"

Trowa leaned over to kiss Quatre gently. He couldn't very well see him in the dark, but he had his face and expressions so perfectly memorized, that he was certain Quatre was really unhappy and needed to be comforted right away. He caressed his little lover's cheek and kissed him once more.

"I love our friends as well," whispered Trowa, "and I wish we could all be together always too. But for all the good it does, I give you my word that, even when the rest have gone, I'll always remain, I'll always be here, just for you."

Quatre smiled. Trowa couldn't see it, but he knew.

"Thank you Trowa" he hugged his boyfriend and rested his head on his chest. "I love you koi"

"I love you too"

And with these final words, they drifted off to sleep.

XXX XXX XXX

Duo was in Heero's arms. They were dancing slowly to the song in their heads. Some slow dance they'd heard somewhere, time ago when there was nothing to worry about. Heero had never been good at dancing, while Duo moved freely. It had been him who taught Heero how to dance. They remained like that for a long while.

"Duo, I'm sorry I asked you until now" said Heero.

Duo broke the dance and looked into his husband's eyes. He wasn't going to lie about it, he sorely regretted that all the good things had to happen when it might be the end, but he firmly believed that it was better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.

"Don't worry about it" Duo answered. "Heh, it might sound silly, but somehow, I still have that funny feeling that everything will turn out ok in the end"

Heero grabbed Duo firmly by the shoulders and looked at him more seriously than he had ever done so in his life. "Duo, I know you don't want to talk about it, but I must. You have to face it, things will never be the same again…"

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO!" Duo broke free from Heero's grasp, "Heero, I'm sure there's got to be another way. You already took that diary to them scientists, I'm sure they can help you now… Cryogenic freezing! You could try that Heero!"

"Duo, I'm way past that"

"Maybe not! Maybe with the new information they can make it work for you…"

"DUO!" Heero grabbed Duo once more and shook him lightly. He knew something like this was coming and was prepared to face it. "Duo, get real. Please, I already told you, I'm not afraid to die"

"But I don't want you to" Duo said, his voice breaking and tears filling his eyes.

"I know… I know because I would feel the same. But please, Duo, don't make it harder than it already is. I think it's a fair price to pay"

"What are you talking about?"

"I delivered what might as well be human's salvation in a silver platter to those scientists. I think it's fair to give my life in exchange for that, you know, in exchange of being the one to save millions."

Duo was cut short of words and tears. Heero was smiling bitterly when he said this.

"I've always thought that my life was a fair price to pay if with it I could save lives, even if it was just one. I don't like to see people suffer and I made my decision a long time ago, to commit myself to it" Heero's voice was firm. There was a time ago when he was innocent, when he thought he had nothing to do with other people. And then, he became a soldier. He could never forgive himself for the time when he discovered he'd made a fatal mistake; when he saw that mobile suit falling over that little girl's house…

"We've taken many lives Duo, lives of people who might've had families and friends, just like us. Families and friends who loved, and who wanted to see their loved ones back at home safely… that's why I think I should give something back"

Heero led Duo towards the bed and they sat. He held his hand firmly between his and leaned on Duo's shoulder. "Please. You have to accept I don't have much time left, and all I want now is to spend my time happily next to my new husband. I don't want to waste this time away fighting"

"I'm sorry Heero"

"It's ok"

Heero pushed them both back onto the bed so they were staring at the ceiling. "So, what does my dear husband want to do now?" asked Duo.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood for sex…"

"I know."

"Heh" Heero laughed softly. "I just want you to hold me Duo. Hold me like you've never held me before"

Heero moved to lay his head atop Duo's chest and Duo held him tightly.

It felt like forever to Duo. He kept thinking about all those things Heero had just told him. He hated to admit Heero was right. He hated to admit he had felt so at times. He just hoped that they could be together for a longer time and then pay for their sins together as well. He had never pictured life without Heero before and was rather reluctant to believe that the Disease could take him away.

"Duo, I love you oh so much" whispered Heero, his voice finally breaking. For the first time after all this had happened, he let a few tears escape. Maybe he was feeling just a little bit afraid, but he wouldn't let Duo know.

"I love you too Heero"

Duo tightened his grip on Heero and they just stood there like that, lying on the bed, positioning themselves so they could stare at each other in the face. They held hands and smiled at each other. There was nothing else they'd rather do at the moment. Just that, look at each other and occasionally talking about unimportant things.

Time went by.

"Duo, I have just one last favor to ask you" whispered Heero from his place at Duo's chest. He stood up and walked over to the only furniture in the room part from the bed. Atop a little bedside table stood a black box Duo hadn't noticed.

"I also asked Lady Une to bring this to me. She was rather reluctant, but in the end I convinced her." He took the box over to Duo and set it on his husband's lap.

"What is it?"

In response, Heero opened the box. Duo's eyes widened in surprise.

"You have got to be kidding me"

"Please Duo. It nearly over and I don't want it to be like all the others we've seen. I don't want you to see me scream and cry like that"

"Heero, I can't…" Duo was about to start crying again.

"Duo, please" Heero kneeled right in front of Duo and fixed upon him a serious look. "This is the last thing I'm asking for. Please grant me at least this last wish"

"Heero…"

"I feel it close now… anytime… please say you will"

"I…" Duo's eyes were filled up with tears and he felt a knot in his throat that wouldn't let him say a word. He swallowed hard and finally nodded. Heero smiled and reached over to kiss Duo. One last passionate kiss before he felt total breakdown.

XXX XXX XXX

"So what you're saying is that this proved to be salvation?"

"It's a good way to put it Lady Une. It certainly seems like so. We've had the diary for little over 12 hours, but there's a lot in there that fills many holes in our research. We are confident we can begin fabricating a vaccine soon."

"Soon?"

Lady Une and Dr. Sen were on their way to Heero's room. They looked terrible, as none had slept in probably a day or two. They meant to tell Heero the good news.

"Yes…I'm sorry it couldn't be sooner…"

"I know. Well, late is better than never"

"Lady Une!"

They met Wufei along the way.

"Wufei, good news." Lady Une told him what Sen had just been telling her.

"About time" behind came Quatre and Trowa and had overheard Lady Une. "But Heero…"

"I'm sorry" Dr. Sen lowered his face, "I'm afraid there's nothing we might be able to do for him…"

They kept walking towards the room. When they reached the corridor at which end were Heero and Duo…

**BANG**

The shot froze everyone in their spot. Lady Une was the only one to truly understand what had happened.

**BANG**

The second shot took her completely by surprise and she was the first to rush over and wrench the door open. A general gasp escaped their lips.

Atop Heero's lifeless figure, lay Duo. They both had a bullet hole on their foreheads and a small pool of blood was slowly forming beneath them.

**OWARI**

XXX XXX XXX

(1) I'm not so sure how this goes, but you guys get the idea, right?

**A/N: **Well, here's the product of another one of my infamous sugar-high sprees! FINALLY DONE! I remember dancing Can-can while writing this whenever I waited for the inspiration muse to descend.

Well, about this last chapter, I have to say I put some extra effort to make it longer than the rest and worthwhile. I hope I succeeded in the last thing. At first I got a bit carried away with the wedding stuff, and only afterwards did I remember the situation they were in. I tried to amend things without changing much of what I had already written, since I really liked it. Also, I hope I didn't make Wufei too OOC. I do realize he's not one to fall for the mushy romantic stuff, but I think he deserves a little love, he, he. In the end, I suppose I did soften him a bit, but no one can always be tough all the time, right?

I wasn't sure what to do about Trowa and Quatre, so I'm sorry if their part seems short and unimportant. The ending is what really had me nervous. I was hesitant to write such things, but in the end, I suppose it's a better ending.

So… did you like it? Please review when you're done reading, it's the last chapter and reviewing never killed anyone. PLEASE!

And lastly, I thank you all. THANK YOU! See you at some other story. Sayonara!


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